The Heart's Hitsuzen
by Eviltiger
Summary: "Someone once told me, that everything is Hitsuzen. I wondered, whether love was also included in the hands of fate." S&S pairing. Sky Pirates! R&R Please.
1. The Tsubasa

**The Heart's Hitsuzen**

**Chapter One: The **_**Tsubasa**_

**By: Eviltiger**

**Author's note: I do not own Tsubasa, only this story. CLAMP is the rightful owner of those wonderful drawings. This is a SyaoSaku fic. I will try to update it often, but I do have a life, so no getting mad at me. R&R PLEASE! For the sake of Tsubasa! Other pairings are: KuroSôma, FaiTomo, and pretend FaiYui. NOTICE: SINCE BOTH TWINS ARE IN THIS ONE, FAI IS THE ONE THE GROUP WAS TRAVELING WITH IN THE ORIGINAL SERIES, WHILE YUI IS THE OTHER TWIN! This is kind of like the introductory into the story.**

**LET'S BEGINNNNNNNN!**

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><p>A ship sailed in the sky, its tattered white sails billowing out proudly. The ship itself was a rich brown, as all ships made of wood usually are. The only thing that set the sky ship from regular water ships was the figurehead at the front. Most figureheads on the ground were in the shape of a beautiful lady. All sky ships had a golden star painted from a kind of shimmering stardust that glowed magnificently in the night.<p>

The ship that was sailing in the sky currently, however, was also different from the regular ships and sky ships in another way. The flag hanging on top wasn't a flag from any world. Instead, it had an ocean blue background, and a white skull with two swords behind it as a center point. It was a sky pirate ship!

When honest sky sailors saw the flag of the sky pirates, they always tensed and searched the flag with their eyes for a symbol added onto the flag that showed which ship would be attacking them. If the flag waving on the sky pirate ship had a snow white feather with an intricate but beautiful purple design beneath the standard sky pirate emblem, all sailors aboard would sigh with relief and thank the gods for giving them mercy. The only ship with that flag was a sky pirate ship called the _"Tsubasa"_.

Everyone on the _Tsubasa_ was an "honorable pirate" as common people called them. They were still sky pirates, but they never killed unnecessarily, never stole more than they needed, and were never cruel. They even helped the world they were making port at if the world was in need of their service. There were some evils on the skies so bad; the _Tsubasa_ was hardly even recognized as a sky pirate vessel. It was the only pirate ship that was welcome almost anywhere.

An amber eyed man with chocolate brown hair walked on the deck of the _Tsubasa_. He wore a simple white shirt with a frayed collar and sleeves, and had on black slightly ripped pants. His boots were made of leather, and he had a sash of a vibrant red tied around his middle. Tucked onto his belt-like sash was a thin but deadly sword with the name of Hien. The man was blind in his right eye, and was the captain of the _Tsubasa_. His name was Syaoran.

Syaoran passed his crew members who were doing their usual duties. In all, only six people sailed on the _Tsubasa_. Every one of them had a physical mark on themselves showing that they weren't a sissy bunch. The Captain's blind eye was a thing of mystery, though. Syaoran knew he had gotten it battling someone, but he couldn't remember anything else. Syaoran nodded to the tan skinned man who did most of the work requiring strength on the ship as he walked by.

The man was probably the strongest out of them all. He had spiky jet black hair, blood red eyes, and a very muscular torso. Wearing something similar to the Captain's outfit, the differences were the fact that he was shirtless, the jungle green instead of fiery red sash around his waist, the dragon sword _Ginryû_ in the sash, and a tarnished small silver earring in the upper part of his ear. He had a scar on his hand from it being pierced through by an aura beam that one of his crewmembers had actually shot at him before they were both in the same boat (literally and figuratively). Never one to back down from a fight, his precision could scare even the most fearless of men. He was originally a ninja assassin, but later decided to roam the skies instead. His name was Kurogane.

Kurogane's wife was following the ninja, who was currently nearly breaking open the trapdoor that led to the lower parts of the ship, with a worried expression on her face. She turned to nod at the Captain quickly and smile before tailing her husband once more.

With straight shimmery night black hair, deep brown eyes with hints of gold speckled in, and light cocoa skin; it was easy to see how anybody could fall for such a lady. She wore a sleeveless mysterious blue kimono touched with hints of blossom pink that went to her mid-thigh, fishnet leggings that began where her kimono ended, and jet black boots. In the sash around her waist were her thrown weapons, as she preferred those over a sword. She too had been a ninja, and preferred that look over the sky pirate one. She was a worrier, but was fierce when she needed to be. The woman never got her clothes dirty when she was fighting, and always looked elegant. Her name was Sôma.

Syaoran chuckled softly as he heard a big crash followed by more crashes and a lot of thumping. Kurogane's shout was heard above the racket.

"YOU DAMN MAGE! TODAY YOU DIE!" There was laughter, more crashes and footsteps, and then out from the bottom of the ship came Sôma trying to calm a stampeding Kurogane who was slicing the air around a man up the steps with Ginryû. The man laughed some more while he said,

"Oh dear, did our Kuro-pon not like my little prank?" As he dodged some more of the attacks that Kurogane was aiming at him, he noticed the Captain and made a salute while exclaiming,

"Good afternoon Captain! It seems I'm in a bit of a pickle! My head's going to be sliced off!"

"DIE, MAAAAAGE!" A battle cry from Kurogane caused the man to laugh even more and start to run even faster as he was chased around the deck. The man was the cook of the ship, and he did his job quite well. With a slim frame and quick movements, he was probably the hardest to catch out of the crew, even with the handicap of having one eye gouged out and a black patch over the hole. He had light blonde locks that tumbled out of his head, a beguiling blue eye, a gentle smile that was always quick to laugh, and creamy pale skin. He had originally been a very powerful magician, but decided to take up the life of a sky pirate since the mortality rate was higher as a pirate than as a magician. He wore a white frayed shirt with no collar and rolled up sleeves, black pants that were also rolled up, and a white apron on top of his clothes. He had no weapon, since he preferred to use only his aura, which everyone could use, and his magic when it came to battle. He did, however always carry a small pocketknife in his left black boot. The magician's name was Fai.

As Fai and Kurogane continued their antics another man appeared from below deck. As Kurogane had Fai cornered and had a deadly glint in his eye the man who had appeared from below deck put himself between Kurogane and Fai. There was a humorous twinkle in his eye, but a face that was pretending to look serious at the moment. He bore an exact resemblance to Fai, with the only changes being that he had both eyes instead of one, and had a jagged scar on his forehead. He wore the exact same outfit as Fai and had a cooking spoon in one hand. He too was a cook on the boat.

"Now see here! No one can play rough with my Fai! No one..." He said suddenly grabbing Fai and holding the male's face up close to his own face, "except me." He finished coming closer to Fai.

"Oh!" Fai whispered softly, not resisting, while a slight blush began dusting his face. Then, before any of the three males could make a move, the man who had been holding Fai's chin was suddenly wacked on the head with a loud _**THUNK**_. He immediately crumpled to the ground, holding the top of his head in pain. The man's name was Yui.

"Holy shit Tomoyo! That really hurt! What did you use this time? A cannonball?" He yelped, looking up at his attacker. Fai chuckled a little at the scene. The one who had hit Yui was a lady shorter that the rest of the crew. She had billowing ebony hair that stopped at her mid-thigh, ivory skin, and sparkling violet eyes that could enchant almost anyone. A pale purple dress patterned with tiny red roses went to her ankles and on her arms stopped at her elbows, a pair of black boots accenting the outfit and her slim figure. It was simple style, yet she had a regal air about her, and everything she did was full of elegance.

She had a calm demeanor and was smiling sweetly, but anyone could tell she was pissed. The fact that there was a pan in her hand held above the cowering Yui and her normally smooth and graceful lavender aura was blazing and dancing around her like flames really were pointers to this. (Even during this, the woman was elegant) Her name was Tomoyo. Tomoyo smiled sweetly and replied,

"No, it was a pan. Now, how many times have I told you to stop with those jokes?" Then, turning to Fai she said, "You too Fai, don't you go encouraging that idiot. I don't want a fiancé who can't remain faithful because of his _**Neanderthal **_of a twin." An indignant _"hey!" _was heard from Yui but Tomoyo responded by whacking him on the head with the frying pan again and turned to face him once more.

"Now, I want to make myself clear. Fai is **my** fiancé and you shall do nothing to take him away from me. You gave your consent two months ago, did you not?" She was smiling sweetly, yet murderous intent was radiating from her head to toes. Yui shivered before smiling weakly and gave a nervous chuckle.

"C-c'mon Tomoyo, you know I'd never do that! W-why, I was just m-messing around!"

As Tomoyo continued to torture Yui, the Captain smiled inwardly. This was nothing new on his ship. Syaoran walked towards the group to join them, as they were now all sitting down on barrels as they traditionally did before hitting the sack. Immediately when Kurogane noticed him coming, everyone turned to face the Captain. A chorus of greetings came from them, and they all smiled as he came to join them. Even Kurogane gave one of his rarer relaxed smirks. Dinner had already been served, the star lanterns that were lit all the time gave off a bright warm glow, and it was time for everyone to relax.

At this time all the crew gathered to tell stories, sing songs, play games with each other, and generally argue. Having the Captain join them was a rare treat, though. Not that Syaoran didn't enjoy being with his crew, he just had a very irregular sleeping pattern, and not even the Captain himself knew when he would awaken. When Syaoran sat on a barrel as well, the fun started.

"Alright, what should we start with? Maybe something different; since the Captain's here!" Fai said, starting it off. A chorus of assent followed after this statement. A flow of suggestions came from five of the people sitting down.

"I say we bring out the rum." This was heard from the only person on the ship who could down _13_ _barrels_ (not jugs or bottles, _barrels_) and still remain sober. Known widely for his alcohol tolerance, Kurogane had never lost in a drinking battle.

"Agreed! Today is the day I will outdrink you!" The ever competitive Yui cried out, having made it his goal to one day beat Kurogane in a battle of liquor holding. Kurogane gave a feral smirk, while replying to the challenge.

"Then let's bring out the rum, although I hope you're not holding yourself to that promise."

"Watch me!" Came the retort, and just like that, the evening fun was underway.

Around an hour and five kegs later, everybody had at least two mugs of beer in them, and the winner of the contest was very apparent. The non-surprising ending was with Kurogane still very sober and drinking, and a certain blue eyed blonde cook was passed out on the deck, his twin using him as a foot rest.

"Tch," Kurogane scoffed, "amateur. Didn't he get _any_ better at holding his liquor?" Fai chuckled while chiding his brother for losing, knowing fully well his remarks fell upon deaf ears. The brothers were extremely close, and no one could make them argue with each other. If they did ever argue, it was on their accord and the dispute would be quickly resolved.

"Hey, Captain?" Sôma asked, her gentle swaying and lack of any worry on her face signifying how drunk she was, began. When Syaoran looked up from his mug, showing he was still somewhat sober, Sôma continued.

"I've noticed… you and Yui are the only people aboard this ship who are single… Do you have anyone special to you?" At this, anybody who wasn't completely wasted (meaning everybody except Yui) looked at the Captain, eager to know the answer. Syaoran looked at his crew for a long time, silence engulfing the ship. Then he looked up at the stars, a sad, almost heartbroken expression on his face. The crew blanched, shocked at the Captain's face. This was look they had never seen worn on their determined and strong Captain.

Syaoran abruptly stood up after a moment, and started slightly staggering to his cabin below deck, the unanswered question hanging in the air, along with the unspoken, yet known answer.

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><p><strong>Sooooooo, you like? Hope ya did! Will get more interesting soon enough! Have a good day!<strong>


	2. Attack From the Night

**The Heart's Hitsuzen**

**Chapter Two: Attack from the Night**

**By: Eviltiger**

**Author's note: I do not own Tsubasa, only this story. I'm Baaack. Didja miss me? Probably didn't since I uploaded both in the same day. Sigh. Oh well. Ps. Ya want the rest of the story? YA GONNA HAFTA REVIEW! At least five reviews please.**

**STORRRRY!**

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><p><em>A young girl looked up at the sky. Her jade eyes were wide with wonder and awe as she saw the pure moon and twinkling stars. Her mouth was parted in a tiny, breathless smile. <em>

_"The sky is so beautiful!" The little auburn haired girl exclaimed in a soft whisper. A young boy with amber eyes next to her also looked up at the sky with wonder, but he kept sneaking glances at the young girl._

_"Yes, it is." The boy said, smiling at the girl._

_"I wonder what it's like, to be one of those people who sail the skies. You know: those sky pirates." _

_"Sky pirates are vicious, evil people my dear!" Her father, who had walked over where the two were sitting in the grassy field, had overheard what the young girl had said._

_"We can maybe take a sky ship someday to visit your Aunt and Uncle in the world of Shura. However, you should forget about those silly tales of __**sky pirates**__. Now come, it's getting to be the time for you to be in bed." The young girl's face scrunched into a pout and then started walking away. She stopped and ran quickly back to the brown-haired boy. With a slight blush, she whispered in his ear,_

_"I still would like to know how it feels like to be a sky pirate, though. But shh! It's our secret." Then she said out loud,_

_"Bye, Syaoran! See you tomorrow!" The boy blushed while smiling, waving good-bye and replied,_

_"Good night, Sakura. Sweet dreams." Once the girl was gone, the young boy looked at the sky once more. He too, wondered what it would be like to be a sky pirate._

&0&

Syaoran opened his eyes. Sitting up slowly from his bed, the 20 year old man's eyes hardened as he remembered what he had been dreaming about. It had been no ordinary dream of fantastical things. Syaoran never dreamed of anything, and on the rare occasions when he did dream, it was only memories of his past. He chuckled sadly, anger written on his face, and whispered harshly,

"Well, _Sakura_, I know what it's like now."

&0&

Syaoran, fully dressed, walked out of his cabin and onto the deck of his ship. There wasn't any activity on the deck, but that was a given since the time was the first hour of full darkness. (**AN: meaning 10:00)** Syaoran was famous for doing this kind of thing. It was rare when he actually woke up and went to sleep on the times of a normal person. Walking up a few steps he approached Fai, who was steering the ship.

Syaoran moved over to the blonde male's good side, allowing Fai to see him. There wasn't really any need to, though. Fai had already known Syaoran was there, and turned to face him.

"Yes, Captain?" He asked. Syaoran nodded to the steering wheel while saying,

"Go get some sleep Fai, I'll take over now." Fai smiled respectfully while he nodded. After the evening drinking a few nights ago, the crew had given him a little more space, and while Syaoran didn't mind the added privacy to his past, they had given him a little more space in general, and it was already lonely being a captain to begin with.

"Thank you, Captain." The blonde had replied, while he slowly walked away, allowing his Captain to take control of the ship. Syaoran gripped one of the smooth, cool handles on the wheel, and held it there. How he loved his ship. Looking on the bright side, he had a good life for a sky pirate: he is Captain a wonderful crew, and the best ship he could ever wish for: his beloved _Tsubasa _is sailing in his command. With a sigh he let go of the handle and walked over to the edge of his ship. He looked out at the completely black sky.

Syaoran was gazing into the comforting black sky when he noticed a bright soft glow coming from behind him. Whenever it was night, the ship was rimmed with lanterns emitting a soft golden glow, so it wasn't hard to see. However, the glow coming from behind him wasn't the glow of the ship's lanterns. He smiled and turned around to see one of the most mysterious sights in the skies; the vanishing mist stars.

There were many types of stars in the dimensions, and all types of stars had different uses. Some were used for healing, some for cooking, some for money, some for magical purposes; the list went on and on. Some stars were rarer than others, however, and the vanishing mist stars was an example of one of the rarest types.

These stars were used to heal all kinds of physical injuries and some mental ones as well. They were extremely useful and very precious. Many people went without seeing them once in their lifetime. The vanishing mist stars appeared and vanished as they pleased, staying in an area for only two hours, and never revisiting a place they've been to until the summer cycle has passed for that dimension 13 times. The _Tsubasa_ had been fortunate enough to see the rarity more than once.

Syaoran held his hand out and let three soft misty spheres land on his hand. Taking out two small empty jars from out of his coat he placed the orbs into the jar and after gently catching three more, the Captain closed the lid on one of them tightly. He then repeated the process with the other jar. If he remembered correctly, Tomoyo had been running low on this type of star.

Gently taking the two jars, he walked down the steps and onto the deck. His ship could manage on her own right now. After opening the hatch he walked down a flight of stairs and down a hallway. Stopping at the last door on the right, the Captain opened it slowly and quietly, as to not awaken anyone who might be in the room. Tomoyo always had a tendency to sleep at her table in the sickroom.

Sure enough, the short, raven haired woman was asleep right where Syaoran predicted she would be. Fai always slightly scolded his fiancée when he found her there. It was usually Tomoyo who did the scolding, though. He gently set the two jars down on the table in front of Tomoyo, so when she awakened the healer could put them in their proper place.

Suddenly, as he was slowly closing the door to the room, all the lanterns, including the ones below deck, went out. Syaoran gave a little surprised yelp, covered his mouth when he realized his mistake, and listened for any noise that might show he had woken up one of his crewmembers.

Hearing nothing, Syaoran relaxed and started fumbling in the pitch black dark for a lantern muttering a few quiet curses. Upon finding one, he took out yet another small jar from his pocket, although the jars he had taken out earlier where considerably larger.

This jar contained two tiny golden stars. Taking one of the glowing orbs out of the jar, Syaoran put the sphere into the lantern, and then closed the lid. After a few seconds the orb inside glowed very bright, and Syaoran proceeded in finding the other lanterns. When he found the desired objects, the man opened the lid to his lantern once more and allowed a tiny bit of light escape into the unlit lantern.

Syaoran repeated this process until every one of the lanterns aboard the ship was lit and the male was left with a very dim lantern. He then let the question that had been bothering him the whole time he was relighting the lanterns float to the top of his mind for pondering. Starlight was a more reliable source of light than fire, as it couldn't be doused out by water, blown out by wind, or snuffed out by the human hand. They dimmed when the sun came out, and returned to their original glow when night enveloped the sky.

The only reason all the lanterns would go out were if the pure stars came in contact with a very powerful dark magic. That meant… !

No sooner had Syaoran realized what had happened, an overwhelming gritty aura, thick as smoke, and as tainted as hell, hit the Captain. Darkness flooded the man's eyes while he staggered backwards a few steps. The lanterns he had just relit were snuffed out again, and the vanishing mist stars had disappeared.

Tendrils of some kind started to snake around and up the Captain, slowly hindering the amber eyed man from any movement. An unbearable coldness started searing through him, crushing his soul. Feeling his legs and part of his arms go numb, Syaoran accidently let go of the lantern he was holding. It fell to the ground and burst into hundreds of pieces with a loud _crash_. The tendrils that had been making its way around his body loosened with surprise, and Syaoran took his opportunity by unleashing his own aura.

Fiery flames burst from the man's body, encircling, warming, and healing the man, while at the same time pushing back the other aura. Syaoran cursed a little louder now, at himself. He was unprepared for the attack, and he couldn't do much except make defense walls and basic healing without his sword to counterpart his aura. Why hadn't he brought it on deck?

Jet black clashed against scarlet over and over again. Syaoran gritted his teeth as he felt the impact of the enemy aura attack. It was growing steadily stronger after every blow, whereas the Captain's was weakening just as fast. With a start the male realized he was facing not just one, but _three_ auras combined! Clenching his fists harder, the man pushed himself to his limit.

Suddenly, and much too late, Syaoran realized while he had been busily fending off the three enemy's' combined attacks, a fourth, sneakier aura had slipped under his defense and was currently taking over his senses. Flickers of black fire began dancing in front of his eyes, clouding his vision. Searing pain started to seep through him, working like a slow poison. The amber-eyed man was in agony. As the fourth aura started attacking his mind, Syaoran felt massive waves of attacks crush his body as his own aura started to disappear.

Numbly, the man realized he had been slammed against the side of his ship. As attack after attack hit him, Syaoran dimly wondered if he was going to die like this. The Captain felt warm liquid soaking his clothes and running down his body. Was it blood? He couldn't tell anymore. The man almost chuckled as he realized this was the end. His crew would find him dead, mangled, and would be left without any Captain. Who was going to kill the sky pirate captain Syaoran Lee? If only he knew… He wondered who would take over… Would they still live the life of a sky pirate? ... Of course they would… after all… after all… what was he going to say? … It was growing steadily darker. This… This was it… S-Sakura…

Then, as if the enemy auras knew this was it, they drew back for the final hit. Rushing forward they were about to hit Syaoran with the mightiest hit yet when-

**BOOM! **A huge bright blue wall expanded in front of the amber-eyed man and absorbed the impact. Syaoran opened his eyes and after a few seconds managed to focus on the person in front of him. He was blonde, and Syaoran mistook him for Fai. Then, seeing the man had two blue eyes instead of one Syaoran realized who it was. Yui. Syaoran could hear thumps and crashes all around him when he tried hard enough. Voices shouted and encircled him. This could only mean one thing: His crew was here.

"Holy shit that's strong! CAPTAIN! Are you okay? H-Hang in there! HEY, TOMOYO!" Yui shouted over the noise of thumping boots and crashing sounds. The raven haired lady quickly ran over to the mangled captain and her eyes widened slightly at all the damage.

"I'm on it! Yui, get Fai to wake up Kurogane, and barricade us if you can!" Tomoyo said steadily, regaining her composure fast and already starting to heal the injured Captain. The lady's aura started flowing out of her hands, spreading over Syaoran and emitting a warm glow. Yui signaled to Fai with one hand, the other hand busy creating a huge light blue wall to hold against the continuous battering of the enemy's attacks. Fai nodded, and turned to rush below deck when a slithering tendril of grey aura shot out and wrapped around his right leg. Much to Fai's horror, the tendril split a couple times, and began wrapping itself around his whole body, immobilizing him. Fai gave a shout of pain and surprise as his twin yelled,

"FAI!" Unable to do anything, Yui could only watch as a fine, spear-like brown aura changed course from attacking the light blue wall to aiming itself at Fai's head. A flimsy wall of dark blue aura attempted to protect Fai, but panic made his defense full of holes and gaps. There was no way his aura wall could protect a mouse at the moment, much less a human. Tomoyo screamed, seeing the aura shoot toward Fai. The male's eyes looked at the arrow hurtling toward him, and closed his eyes, unable to move, unable to struggle, _unable to accept his fate_…

Then, there was a sudden flash of green, and a quick movement. Fai opened his eyes, still very much alive and looked up in shock, a smirk creeping over his features when he saw the reason the arrow aura hadn't reached him. Swaying casually up on the rigging, the moon cast a shadow on him, showing only the outline of the man's figure. His sword, however, was shining in perfect detail, gleaming in the moonlight. One hand was holding the rigging, the other resting a deadly sword on his shoulders, also channeling a forest green aura, encircling the sword like a dragon. A feral, almost inhuman grin was on his face and the man's blood red eyes were filled with anticipation for battle. Not many wished to face the former assassin Kurogane in battle.

"Kurroooo-tannnnnn! What took you so long? I almost died because of your laziness!" Fai called out teasingly with a huge grin. Kurogane rolled his eyes, and let go of the rigging, dropping onto the deck of the ship right in front of Fai. All the while, he blocked every single one of the attacks heading toward him by barely moving his hand to adjust the position of Ginryû.

"On second thought, I probably shouldn't have saved your life. You're gonna keep yakking away and I'll die from being talked to death. I had to get something from the Captain's room, stupid mage." The black warrior stood up, and walked over to where Syaoran was slowly struggling to sit up; ignoring Tomoyo's nagging to rest a little before he went into the fight again. Passing into Yui's aura wall, he offered his hand to Syaoran.

The Captain looked at him and gratefully accepted it, letting the warrior pull the Captain up to his feet. Once Syaoran was standing without any swaying, Kurogane tossed to his Captain the object he had been keeping tucked in his sash. Syaoran caught his sword with ease, and walked out of Yui's protection, causing it to vanish. The Captain drew Hien, determination filling his eyes and flames flickering around him. The attacking auras had ceased, and it was eerily silent when out of the night, a ship started materializing before the Tsubasa. Raising Hien, Syaoran pointed his sword at the sky ship that had fully appeared and was steadily approaching. Every sky pirate knew the ship approaching his vessel, for only one ship in all the skies was entirely robed in black, containing a crew destined to be damned, and a captain destined to be the next ruler of hell. The _Black Wings_. Captain Fei-Wang Reed's ship.

"Gents, Ladies," Syaoran said to his crew, never taking his eyes of the tainted ship, "Load the cannons, and ready your weapons."


	3. The Maiden

**The Heart's Hitsuzen**

**Chapter Three: The Maiden**

**By: Eviltiger**

**Author's note: Own nothing. I'm in a good mood today! Ahahahahahahahaaaaa! Sooo, ya like the cliffy? Heh heh. Wanna begin? I betcha wanna. Soooo, here ya go! I got one review, and I guess I should be happy with that only. Sigh... But thanks anyway to you who reviewed! YOU ARE AWESOME! Here we go!**

**YAAAAAAAAAAA!**

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><p>As the black ship of doom approached nearer and nearer, the Captain of the <em>Tsubasa<em> had determination in his eyes that was quickly counterbalanced with horror and disgust as he began to see something appearing alongside of the _Black Wings_: a passenger ship, no doubt full of innocent people, engulfed in black flames which glowed strongly, full of hate and menace. The poor ship most likely had gotten itself a death warrant by merely appearing in the _Black Wings_' view. The monstrosities aboard that had been twisted to the point they were beyond recognition as humans **enjoyed** giving no quarter, and mercy wasn't part of their vocabulary.

The _Black Wings_, however, showed no immediate sign of attacking. After a moment of confusion, Syaoran came to the answer quickly. Fei-Wang Reed had intended to capture or kill _only_ Syaoran by means of sneak attack; now that he was ready and his crew was beside him, Fei-Wang didn't want to take any chances. Although the _Black Wings_ were easily the deadliest ship on the skies, he had refrained from crushing the _Tsubasa_ and starting the battle. This was an option for him, because not even the _Tsubasa_ crew was foolish enough to start a battle they knew they were going to lose. Syaoran gritted his teeth in frustration. Signaling his crew to put their auras away and weapons down, he lowered his sword while walking toward the edge of his ship. Sure enough, Fei-Wang Reed was standing at the edge of his ship as well, completely unarmed, an all-knowing smile on his face. Syaoran immediately identified him as one of the three attackers who had surprised him. Kyle Rondart, his ever loyal servant as well as Kimihiro Watanuki were both standing next to the Captain, obviously the two other attackers.

"Fei-Wang Reed. Getting your minions to help you try and win against me huh? Such a cheap shot. Where's Xing-Huo? I'm pretty sure she was the one who slipped under my defenses; no one else on your filthy ship has that kind of ability." Fei-Wang Reed continued to smile calmly, disregarding the jibes almost to the point where Syaoran wanted to sound the attack against the ship from hell, foolish or not.

"We are pirates, my dear comrade, are we not? There is no guidebook we must follow, nor are there any chivalrous codes that we must keep to, yet the _Tsubasa_ seems to forget that. What makes the _Tsubasa_, and their young captain, deny this and show mercy to those who do not deserve it? The weak are to be destroyed, not shown compassion to." Syaoran narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists, obvious anger radiating from him. If Fei-Wang Reed noticed this, he was completely unfazed by the young man's hostility.

"However," He continued, arising confusion from those on the other ship, "we did not come here to quibble amongst ourselves. As you can clearly see, we did not wish for a fight here, simply a clean assassination. It does not matter too much, as we have already accomplished one of our goals. Any battle you incur might damage the… _goods_ we have on board. We will leave you for now, young captain." Upon hearing this Syaoran's anger multiplied. The Captain of the _Black Wings_ had a nasty habit of tending to be so blunt it angered people. A tiny worm of curiosity and managed to crawl into Syaoran's mind, though. Fei-Wang Reed could usually care less about the goods his ship had obtained. What had he managed to pilfer that was so important he couldn't risk an exchange of blows with any ship?

"Don't think this is over Fei-Wang Reed!" Syaoran shouted as the ship of tainted night slowly began to move away from them and sink back into the misty evil they had appeared from. The reply was a clear threat; the words slightly echoing before fading away.

"Do not worry, young captain. This… is **far** from over." As he said that, Fei-Wang Reed held up a necklace. It was very hard to make out, but those on the opposite ship could just make out the thin silver chain and a pendant made out pure diamond that was carved into the shape of one wing. As the crew looked at it in confusion, they noticed a change in their captain as Fei-Wang put it back in his robes and disappeared along with his ship: the _Tsubasa_ Captain had turned a deathly shade of white, recognition, shock, and anger were written all over his face before he quickly recovered himself. The crew exchanged glances, and all confirmed that they were thinking the same thing: their captain had recognized that necklace.

Once the black ship had left, the whole _Tsubasa_ crew let out a little sigh of relief. After their brief pause, however, they soon went into action. There was still the matter of looking for survivors from the ship that the _Black Wings_ had burned and left in their wake.

"Tomoyo! Search out any survivors that may be in the water or ship! If there is the slightest possibility they are alive, tell us! Fai, steer us toward the vessel! Sôma, help Tomoyo search! Yui, Kurogane, stand ready!" The crew nodded, and everyone rushed to do their jobs. Syaoran gripped the railing, his mind a whirl.

"_It couldn't have been… I was just imagining things… there's no possible way that could have been __**hers**__!"_ Yui, seeing his standby as an opportunity to confront the captain, interrupted Syaoran's thoughts with a cough.

"Say… Captain… do you… by any chance… know… that necklace that Captain Fei-Wang Reed had held up?" Syaoran immediately turned to face Yui, his eyes aflame and his usually calm demeanor gone.

"No! I don't! Never have, and never will! It was probably some trinket the bastard just took a fancy to!" Syaoran practically yelled. Everyone on the ship had heard his words, and it was completely silent for a few seconds before the hustle resumed. Yui knew better than to push the subject, as his Captain turned away from him once more to tightly grip the railing of the ship, muttering furiously the whole time. This was, once again, something the crew had never seen the Captain do.

"In the "water"! Someone's alive!" Tomoyo shouted, breaking the tense atmosphere. A moment later Sôma confirmed what Tomoyo had said, and pointed at a figure limply holding onto a barrel. Yui and Kurogane set to work immediately, jumping into the ocean-like sky in such a hurry that they had forgotten to take their shirt and shoes off, although Kurogane had had the sense to toss his sword to the side. The curses from the two men upon realizing their mistake were very amusing to hear, despite the heavy mood, and Syaoran couldn't help but crack a smile at their interesting choices of words. Whoever was in the sky was extremely lucky that they had gone overboard in a strip of sky that was very far away from any dimension. In that space, the sky could be likened to water, and one could swim in it. Sometimes, the sky-water was even fresh and drinkable. A few miles closer to the next dimension, however, and anybody overboard would plummet to their deaths.

Kurogane reached out and grabbed the figure, and began to swim with it over his right shoulder, while Yui supported the other half of the figure's weight by letting it lean on his left shoulder, keeping the figure's head above water. Once the duo reached the side of the boat Syaoran tossed down a rope he had secured to the side of the vessel and signaled it was tied on firmly. Kurogane nodded to Yui, who proceeded to let go of the figure and grab the rope. Once one hand was holding onto the rope, Yui helped Kurogane position the unconscious person onto his back in a way so the figure wouldn't fall off.

While Kurogane gripped the side of the boat with one hand, Fai shimmied up the rope onto the deck, and then waved down to Kurogane. The tan man acknowledged the wave with a nodded, and caught the rope. Then, holding onto the taunt material with one hand and supporting the figure with the other, he held on tight while the whole crew strained to pull him aboard. Kurogane, being a very tall and muscular man, was hard to lift in the first place, and the additional weight did nothing to help. After many heaves, grunts, and a few barrels of sweat, Kurogane finally arrived at the railing of the ship. He looked at the crew and Captain of the ship he sailed under and scoffed good-naturedly.

"Keh, weaklings." Fai smirked exhaustedly up at Kurogane before retorting,

"Kuro-wan-wan is a really heavy doggy, though!" Kurogane's eye twitched slightly with annoyance and was about to reach for his sword, but a look from Sôma quickly stopped him. They still had, after all, an unconscious person on deck _and_ sopping wet clothes to dry. Tomoyo had rushed over to the unconscious person immediately after Kurogane had placed it on deck. She had been checking for any signs of consciousness, when the figure started coughing weakly. Everyone stopped what they were doing and leaned to take a better look at the person.

It was a woman, probably no older than 20, and most likely around the Captain's age. The water had plastered her hair to her face, but even though she was in utter disarray, the lady was no doubt beautiful. She had dark auburn hair that went to the middle of her neck. Two strands of her soaking wet hair were significantly longer and went slightly below her shoulders. Her face was pale, burn wounds were all over her arms, and the dress she was wearing showed signs of not only being soaked with sky-water, but of being set aflame and torn. Even that condition, however, it was clearly a very gorgeous dress. Whoever the young maiden was, it was clear from the ship she had been sailing in and the exquisite dress on her that she was not unfamiliar with higher class standards.

The maiden slowly began to open her eyes, coughing up sea water all the while. Kurogane helped her to sit up as she struggled to bring herself in that position. Her jade green eyes were stunningly clear and bright as she turned her head in wonder and confusion. She didn't utter a single word or sound, save coughing. Her eyes then focused on Tomoyo, who wasted no time in trying to glean any type of information.

"My name is Tomoyo. You are onboard the _Tsubasa_. You are safe with us, for we will not hurt you. What's your name?" Tomoyo waited anxiously, waiting for the answer.

"The…. Tsubasa?" She asked slowly. Her voice was soft and quiet, similar to the sound of tiny bells. Tomoyo nodded slowly, and the crew saw she was willing herself to be calm as to not disturb the lady.

"Yes, that's right, the _Tsubasa_. We rescued you." This only seemed to confuse the maiden more, and she slowly looked at each of the crew. Then her eyes met with the Captain. Syaoran turned completely white, as if he had seen a ghost, or rather, become one. Before the rest of the crew could really comprehend what exactly was going on, Syaoran was gripping the maiden by her arm harshly, his eyes ablaze.

"You!" He hissed, murderous intent radiating from his aura, "Never thought I'd see you again, this time, at _my_ mercy! Should I just throw you overboard, or make the death more painful? You're choice!" The maiden gave a small cry of terror and pain as she struggled to get out of his grip. The crew could only stare in shock at their Captain's terrifying change of character.

"Who are you? What did I do?" She cried. Syaoran gave a viscous smirk as he practically spat,

"Oh, pretending you don't know me, vixen? Or is it that I was just so insignificant to you that after I had done everything for you and after you **betrayed **me, I didn't matter anymore? I never meant anything to you did I? Your true feelings were always craftily hidden by that mask of yours!" By this time the crew emerged from their shock and leapt into action. The Captain was really trying to injure the girl! Kurogane and Yui quickly rushed forward to grab their Captain, struggling to restrain him.

"CAPTAIN! GET A GRIP!" Kurogane roared at Syaoran while shaking him. Eventually Syaoran stopped struggling, resorting to only glowering at the girl. The maiden's eyes were huge and scared, confusion written all over her face. She had crawled away from Syaoran the moment both men had caught him. Small tears trickled down her face. Tomoyo and Sôma quickly rushed to comfort the girl, uncertainty flickering in their eyes as they looked at the Captain.

"I-I don't know you! I don't know! I don't remember anything!" the girl sobbed. Tomoyo soothed the girl, rubbing her back while saying gently,

"It's all right, the Captain's just mistaken you for some other person, and it isn't you he's mad at. Right… Captain…?" Tomoyo addressed the last part to the man behind her.

"NO, SHE _IS_ THE ONE! I'VE WANTED MY REVENGE ON HER FOR FOUR YEARS! DON'T THINK YOU CAN FOOL ME!" Syaoran managed to roar before he was quickly shut up again by Kurogane and Yui.

"Captain! Think straight! She is telling the truth! If you stop trying to kill her with your murderous intent for a moment you would be able to feel the innocent aura radiating from her as well!" Sôma shouted, narrowing her eyes at the Captain. The amber eyed man simply scoffed at that, but remained silent. What was going on? Turning back to the maiden, she said kindly,

"Don't worry. Until your wounds are healed, we will make sure the Captain does _not_ go near you. It's okay. I can sense you're telling the truth. If the Captain never met you, it's only common sense that you wouldn't remember him." The girl sobbed harder at this and shook her head furiously.

"No. It's not that I just don't remember _him_; I don't remember anything at all! I don't even know my name!"

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><p><strong>Hmmm…. Yet another cliffy…. Oops…Dun-dun-duuuuuuun! Reviews pleeez. THAT MEANS YOU!<strong>


	4. A Hard Decision

**The Heart's Hitsuzen**

**Chapter Four: A Hard Decision**

**By: Eviltiger**

**Author's Note: Own nothing except the storyline, and I'll hunt ya down if ya steal it! That's a promise! Wow! I haven't gotten this far in a story since the Matchmaker Moko series (which I have yet to finish… sweat drop) Oh well. This will be my main focus anyway. The show goes on! **

**COWABUNGAAAAAA!** Note: Memories = _**bolded and italicized**_

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><p>High in the sky, a ship glided on sky water, giving off a peaceful demeanor. Peaceful, however, was the farthest emotion from the atmosphere and aura the ship had. Heavy thumps echoed around the overall silent ship, accompanied by light footsteps quickly following the stomps from the cabin to across the deck. Two voices rang clearly into the sky, an argument amongst the two commencing. The rest of the crew was below deck; no one wanted to interrupt them.<p>

"No." Thump, thump, thump.

"Captain, we must let her stay for a little while!" Tup-tup-tup-tup-tup-tup.

"The first dimension we come across she's getting off at." Thump, thump, thump.

"Captain! Feel a little compassion for her!" Tup-tup-tup-tup-tup-tup.

"I _am_ feeling compassion for her Tomoyo! Nothing would please me more than to see my hands wrapped around her neck or pushing her off this very ship!"

"Captain, she wasn't lying when she said she can't remember anything! All her memories are completely blank! Not only that, but she can't perform vital tasks to surviving in any town alone! She didn't recognize what clothes or money is used for, can't dress herself or use any type of currency, and didn't even understand what the purpose of water and food were! She wouldn't last a minute out there!"

Now, one can only stomp away from somebody on a ship for so long until they reach a side of the vessel, and Syaoran was forced to turn around and face the resilient healer of his ship on the matter of letting the rescued maiden stay or not. His eyes sharp, he looked at Tomoyo, sending the healer an unspoken, but clear message: I could care less about what happens to her.

"Why?" Tomoyo asked so suddenly, Syaoran was caught off guard, and the raven haired woman carried on. "Why do you hate her so much?" Syaoran looked down while he leaned against the railing of the _Tsubasa_, his eyes hardening at the memory. He sighed, running a hand through his hair; then dropped it while lifting his gaze to once more meet Tomoyo's.

"…She can stay." This answer was so unexpected, Tomoyo's eyes widened as she took a step back.

"W-what?" The lady stuttered. Syaoran narrowed his eyes at her, while replying.

"I said, she can stay until her memory returns or until the third month of her stay here has passed, whichever comes sooner. But, in agreement to this, your side of the bargain is to never question me on my past!" Tomoyo smiled, albeit slightly uneasily, and nodded while saying,

"Understood! Thank you Captain!" Syaoran sighed once more, and stalked away from Tomoyo to his personal quarters, mumbling under his breath. It was clear the Captain was unhappy with the situation, but preferred it over the alternative: tell the crew about his past. As he walked away, Tomoyo dropped her smile. A slight frown etched her face as she continued to watch the captain until he was out of sight. What kind of past was her Captain hiding?

Shaking her head, she walked down below deck to check on the maiden in her sickroom. Before she did so, however, she went into the dining room. Not even opening the door, she simply walked past while saying,

"It's over. I won." A mixture of swearing and laughter erupted from the room, and Tomoyo could make out Fai shouting,

"Ha! Kuro-sama, you owe me half your dinner! You should know better than to doubt my lady!" followed by a few choice words from Kurogane before the healer was out of hearing range.

Carefully opening the door, Tomoyo stepped into the sickroom to check on the maiden. The girl was still sleeping, after the rough night she had experienced. Feeling the good mood that she had been in briefly (while being near the recreation room) disappear, Tomoyo sighed heavily. Sitting down next to the maiden, the healer couldn't stop the unanswerable questions that were bugging the whole crew from wriggling their way into her head. Who was this girl? How did Syaoran know her? What did she do to make the Captain hate her so? How did the Captain know the necklace Fei-Wang Reed had held up? And most importantly: What was Captain hiding in his past, and why wasn't he telling the crew?

Syaoran slammed the door to his cabin, and collapsed on the bed, an arm covering his face. His aura uncontrollably flared out and started wrecking the Captain's cabin. Too exhausted and conflicted to bother to try and restrain his rampaging fiery aura, the man simply rolled over to try and ignore the racket. He'd clean up the mess later.

Auras: a gift very similar to magic, but unlike arts of those kinds, it didn't come to only those with a gift and talent: auras were as common and natural as skin. Auras were part of a person, and were ruled by emotions very easily if they weren't restrained. Kept inside of the body, auras could be called out by the owner, or simply come out unconsciously. A person's personality molded how the aura would appear and be used as. Kurogane, for example: the ninja was a manly, strong, and dependable man, and never backed down from a battle. His aura was as strong and as sturdy as an oak, and helped amplify his sword techniques and combat attacks in general. Green also happened to be his favorite color. It was very easy to sense other people's auras, and they could easily recognize a friend or foe, which made it hard for ninja like Kurogane to not be found, but with special training, an aura could be masked, or even disguised to feel like someone else's aura. Auras were very special things, and wasn't an ability to be taken for granted.

Syaoran sighed as he restrained his aura from exploding out and making another rampage when the full force of the situation hit him. She was staying here. _She_ was. And he had _agreed _to it! He knew it was a bad idea to let…_her_ stay, (scratch that, it was probably the worst idea in history) but he had agreed because of two reasons. Fei-Wang Reed's words rang in his head saying that the weak should be persecuted. The amber eyed captain refused to sink as low to that vile man's level, even if it was…_her_ that was in question. The second reason prevailed above all, however.

He really didn't feel like taking a walk down memory lane with his crew. Especially since… The feeble attempts of lifting his mood with: '_Avoiding her will be easy…'_ and '_No need to come out of the room unless there's a total catastrophe…'_ were squashed as his memories took over. The amber eyed man rolled on to his side, memories crashing down on him. Memories he so desperately wanted to forget, or at least get an explanation to. Voices from his past rang in his head, one voice in particular rising above them all.

"_**Syaoran?" "Syaoran!" "Syaoran…."**_

"…Sakura…"

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><p><strong>Okay, I <strong>_**know**_** this was short, and like really bite-size short, but I needed to end the chapter there. To make up for that I'll post the next one reaaaaallly soon. So please continue reading and R&R! Thanks! (Ps. Tell me if you don't understand anything, and I'll explain it in the story!)**


	5. Kaede

**The Heart's Hitsuzen**

**Chapter Five: Kaede**

**By: Eviltiger**

**Author's Note: Own nothing. Have fun reading! I don't want to beg, but can you please review? Here it is anyway. This one is just a little bit of rambling and information here and there. Ps. If I screw up the nautical terms, feel free to tell me what an idiot I am and where I screwed up. Thank you! ^_^**

**Heeeere it gooooooooeeeess!**

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><p>It was morning on the <em>Tsubasa<em> and everyone (save the Captain with his interesting sleeping habits) was slowly waking up. Yui was the first to stumble out of his room he shared with his twin. Still without clothes (he preferred to sleep without anything on), he slowly made his way to the kitchen, staggering with his eyes closed all the way. Fai soon woke up after his twin, heading to the kitchen with his eyes closed and donning solely his birthday suit as well. Pretty soon, a faint smell of breakfast began to fill the lower deck. Faint of not, however, it still woke Kurogane. Yawning, but already dressed, the tall ninja slowly walked up onto the deck to check that the ship was still going on the right course. Breakfast hadn't finished cooking yet. The man's food radar was that good.

Suddenly, a shriek rang out into the quiet morning lull, followed quickly by startled yells. The rest of the crew immediately woke up, and rushed to the sound of the noise. Kurogane arrived at the scene first, his sword just barely out of its scabbard. Sôma arrived next, breathing heavily, but was already dressed in her kimono. Her hair, however, was still in messy disarray. Tomoyo burst in with half of her dress on, never mind her hair, and arrived at the kitchen third. All three had shouted something more or less, but their yells quickly died as they saw the situation in front of them. Finally, the Captain came, bursting into the room, (fully dressed) shouting,

"WHAT HAPPENED?" The sight that met his eyes, however, made him stop in his tracks in confusion. The amber eyed man was lost for words. Syaoran turned to look at Kurogane, who in turn looked at Sôma, who looked at Tomoyo, who was already glaring at Fai and Yui, both with sheepish grins on their faces and washrags hiding their "parts". The maiden who had been rescued yesterday had her hands over her eyes, her face a brilliant shade of red as she repeatedly stammered,

"I'm sorry, I don't why, but I'm embarrassed!" Syaoran took a good look at the whole scene, sighed, and turned to the twins.

"There'd better be a good explanation for this. But first, put on some pants." The Captain practically snarled. He then stalked back upstairs, muttering something about "beginning of a great day", being "woken up for something like this" and "whether Tomoyo would forgive me if I castrated them both". Both twins had caught the last few words their Captain muttered, and looked at each other despairingly. Both turning in exact synch to face Tomoyo, their eyes wide and pleading; and their puppy eyes were only part of the whole dramatic "help me" look. Tomoyo simply sighed and rolled her eyes. She, as well as the rest of the crew, couldn't wait to hear their explanation.

"You've got to be kidding me." The Captain of the _Tsubasa_ deadpanned, his face showing no emotion, save annoyance mixed with a little bit of disbelief. The twin cooks shuffled under his steel gaze, a growing shade of red on both of their faces. Syaoran groaned and rubbed his temples, sighing once more before he continued to grill the twins. The whole crew was finished with breakfast, and the Captain was interrogating the twins at the table in the "dining" room. The rest of the crew, save Sôma, who was looking after the maiden in the sickroom, getting the survivor to eat her breakfast, was around the table. Kurogane was crouching next to the window, while Tomoyo was standing right behind the twins, her violet aura out and dancing around her in flames while wearing her ever present smile and holding two heavy metal spoons.

"So you're telling me, that you both sleepwalk, and while sleepwalking you don't remember anything, but it's your first instinct to make food, so you go and make breakfast still asleep, and when you sleep you don't wear any clothes so you essentially cook naked-

"What?" Kurogane choked out, interrupting Syaoran, "I'm never eating breakfast made by you two ever again!" Syaoran turned to look at Kurogane, sighed and shook his head for the umpteenth time, and turned back to the twins while continuing.

"As I was saying, you cook—er- bare, and this time, the… _**lady**__… _we rescued apparently was wandering around lost, heard noises coming from the kitchen, went there, and we all know what happened next. Is that all, or is there anything you've forgotten to mention, hmm?" The twins shook their heads vigorously, babbling the whole time. '_Why me? What did I ever do?'_ Syaoran thought despairingly. The gods certainly were having a lovely time enjoying his torment weren't they? Finally, Syaoran stood up, sparing the twins from any more of their beating, and slightly disappointing Tomoyo.

"I've heard your pathetic story, and now give you your punishment for waking me up: You will clean the whole ship without any help from the rest of the crew. And I mean _whole_. Are we clear?" The man said. At the prospect of cleaning the entire ship, the twins paled slightly, but when they looked at Tomoyo again, they decided they had probably gotten off easily.

"Yes, Captain!" The two chorused, and made a scramble to the mops and buckets, not willing to be in the dining room a second longer. Sighing as he watched the two make a getaway, Syaoran slowly stood up, and then ambled tiredly towards the stairs to return to his cabin. Tomoyo began to clean up the dishes in the dining room while Kurogane ambled off in the direction of the weaponry.

888

"This is gonna be lonnnnng. It could take us a whole week!" Fai groaned, while half-heartedly mopping the deck of the ship. Mid-day had passed, and the two had only done a quarter of the actual deck, never mind the lower deck, the masts, the bulwark, or the helm. Needless to say, boredom was hovering over the two like a dark storm cloud. Yui sighed and just kept mopping. He'd been listening to Fai complain for an hour now, and there wasn't much more he could take.

Suddenly, they became aware of another presence behind them. The twins turned around to find the maiden standing near the deck stairs, watching them curiously. Upon realizing that she had been caught, the lady blushed furiously and backed up, only to fall down the flight of stairs leading to below deck! With a yelp, Yui quickly abandoned his mop to go help the maiden, while Fai followed hurriedly in suit.

"H-hey, miss, you okay?" Yui exclaimed checking to see if she had any injuries. Slowly, the dazed maiden shook her head. Suddenly realizing that the two men in front of her were the ones from the morning encounter, she blushed furiously and began to apologize once more. In return, the twins began to blush as well, apologizing and stammering too.

After a few minutes of heated babble, both parties stopped, looked at each other, slowly beginning to see how ridiculous they were acting, and before long, small giggles and hesitant chuckles erupted into full blown laughter. Anyone watching the three would have questioned their sanity. After the laughter had subsided, Yui stood up slowly, and helped the maiden to her feet.

"The name's Yui. This is Fai. You gotta name miss?" Yui asked. The maiden looked sure of herself as she opened her mouth, but all of a sudden, the hopelessly lost look that she had been wearing most of the time returned, and she closed her mouth sadly while shaking her head. Compassion flooded through Yui like a tidal wave as he watched the lady struggle with her lost memory.

"Tell you what, miss!" The blonde announced unexpectedly, startling the maiden. "Yer really pretty, heck, downright gorgeous! Maple trees, they're beautiful too. So might it be alright if we called you Kaede?" The maiden blushed deeply, caught unawares by the sudden compliment and name. Slowly nodding, she couldn't help but give a smile. Yui smiled broadly at Kaede's reaction and said with a large grin,

"Well, then, welcome to the _Tsubasa_ Miss Kaede!" Then, the blond gave a flourished bow to Kaede, which was received with a giggle and a clumsy attempt to mimic his pose.

"Hey, hey now Yui, you're getting all the cool lines here! Butting me out! Such a meanie!" Fai teased his twin, jumping up from behind onto the blue-eyed man's back.

"It's not my fault if ya don't say anything! Get off! Get off ya great lump!" Yui staggered under the weight of his twin, waving his arms wildly before losing his balance and crashing to the ground. As the two continued to playfully bicker and squabble Kurogane ambled out of the weapons room. Spotting sight of the twins laying in front of the stairs in a mess, not even attempting to move, the former ninja's right eye slightly twitched.

"Oi! Idiots! You're blocking the stairs!" Kurogane growled, walking towards them. The twins looked up from their bicker, and seeing Kurogane jumped up immediately in fake fear.

"Aiya! Big doggie's going to eat us! By the way, Miss Kaede, that's Kurogane. Aiya!"

"See him foamin' at the mouth!"

"He'll chop us into a stew!"

"Look out, here 'e comes!" No sooner had the warning left Yui's mouth when both of the twins were grabbed by their collars and lifted in to the air a few feet. Kurogane was most definitely the strongest man on the _Tsubasa_.

"Get back to work you damn mages. _Now_." Kurogane said with as much composure he could muster. Fai grinned and said cheekily,

"Look, look! Kuro-pii is learning how to control his temper! How grown up of him!"

"Good doggie, good doggie!" Yui chimed in, "We're so proud of ya!" At this Kurogane began to chew them out with very colorful language. Suddenly, though, the man became aware that there was small giggling coming from behind the three. Kurogane turned around sharply to find Kaede sitting, watching the trio, giggling the whole while. Upon noticing that the attention was on her, the maiden blushed and stopped giggling, a sheepish smile written on her face.

"I-I'm sorry. Should I not have laughed?" She asked embarrassed. Yui laughed, and cheerfully responded,

"No, no, it was perfectly fine! In fact, ya might have just saved our lives! And anyway," the man continued with an impish grin, "I wouldn' mind yer laugh even if it _was_ out of place. It's cute." At this Kaede turned a bright red, fumbling for words. Kurogane sighed, lady-killer Yui struck again!

"Stop teasing her idiot. Shouldn't you two be _working_ anyway?" The twins exchanged guilty looks at this and Kurogane rolled his eyes at their idiocy. "Get to work, and I'll take… er, the guest-"

"Kaede." The interruption was so faint if Kurogane didn't have good hearing, he would have missed it completely. The tan man turned slightly to face the woman once more, who shrank under his gaze. Nevertheless, she stammered,

"U-Um! My name… It's K-Kaede." Kurogane lifted an eyebrow questioningly.

"Maple?" If it was possible, Kaede turned an even brighter shade of red.

"Y-yes. I-I like my name. Um… that man named me." She stammered, pointing to Yui. Kurogane studied the maiden, finally dropping the twins. As he walked off the man said,

"For making a good choice, I'll let you idiots go this time." Yui and Fai grinned, whooping with joy. Kaede looked questioningly at the retreating male, and then turned to face the twins.

"He let you go? Because of my name?" She asked. Yui and Fai stopped whooping, turning to face Kaede and Fai nodded.

"Yeah, I believe so." The man said, surprisingly looking serious for a moment.

"Why would he do that?" Kaede questioned. Fai shrugged, having no clue. Yui stepped in here, explaining the reason.

"I'm not sure, but I think Kaede was his mum's name. A really beautiful woman, that's what Kurogane says."

"Where is she now?" Kaede asked innocently. Immediately there was a change in mood. The twins fell silent, and a heavy mood replaced the former cheery one.

"Well… She was murdered. A pirate ship called the _Black Wings_ burned a boat with her in it." Yui said quietly. Shock radiated from Kaede, her eyes wide. "That's actually what happened to ya too, but ya was lucky, and fell into the sea."

"You know," Fai mused, tactfully guiding the conversation towards Kurogane once more, "That's probably why Kurogane shouted at the captain that night. Usually he'd never oppose the captain. Never raise his voice on him anyways. But maybe because she had been in the same position as you…" Fai's voice died out as his mind wandered off. There was an awkward pause as Kaede tried to digest all the information while Fai spaced out and Yui simply sat there.

Suddenly, Yui jumped up, slapping his forehead and startling both of the people next to him.

"Shoot! Fai, we gotta make dinner! The sun's startin' to go down!" The man shouted. Fai quickly jumped to his feet as well, confirming what Yui had stated.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" With that, the two started running towards the direction of the kitchen, their mops and buckets in their hands. As they ran off, Yui turned his head to look at the startled Kaede still sitting on the ground.

"Sorry Miss Kaede!" The man shouted. "We'll introduce ya to the crew and the ship soon! Yer room is the one two doors behind ya on the left! We gotta go now!" The twins disappeared into supposedly the kitchen, and Kaede was left alone in the hallway. Her head still awhirl from the encounter she had with the twins, the maiden slowly rose to her feet.

As she passed the stairs, Kaede looked up. Expecting simply a small view of the fading daylight sky, she was surprised to find a man standing at the top of the stairs. The man stared at her for a little, and then abruptly turned, disappearing from Kaede's sight. Walking away from the stairs, slightly shaken, recognition hit her like a wave as she was slowly turning the knob to her quarters. The man staring at her had been the one earlier who had scared her when she had first arrived on the ship, his amber eyes flashing as he grabbed her arm fiercely.

Who was that man? Why couldn't she remember anything? Confusion swirled in Kaede's head as she dropped onto the bed in the small room that had been set aside for her. Almost sub-consciously the maiden reached for her throat, and a flash of fear and panic shot through her as she realized there was nothing there. Then, however, the panic and fear was replaced with even more confusion. Why had she reacted that way? She hadn't been wearing any…what was the word… _jewelry_ (Tomoyo and Sôma had taught her about clothes, food, and jewelry) when she had woken up, so why the panic?

Kaede's head began to throb from all the pondering, and quickly decided to stop thinking about these things. Shaking her head as if to clear her thoughts, the maiden jumped up as she heard a knock on her door and Yui calling to her.

"Miss Kaede? Dinner's ready! Ya want to eat with us?" The man said from behind the door. Kaede smiled timidly, and opened the door.

"If it's not too much of a trouble, I'd love to."

"Then come on and follow me!" Kaede willingly obliged, smiling as Yui happily chattered. Yes, best not to think about questions that couldn't be answered. Simpler to sweep away all the swirls of confusion and questions to one side, and hide them away. At least for now.

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><p><strong>End of Chapter Five.<strong>

**Woooooow! I've really made it this far! Wooooow! By the way, from now on, I'm gonna be just focusing on one story at a time until I complete each one. Thanks for reading!**


	6. Collecting Fragments

**The Heart's Hitsuzen**

**Chapter Six: Collecting Fragments**

**By: Eviltiger**

**Author's note: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR REVIEWS! YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME! To clear up a few things, I apologize for the repeated use of "maiden" in the past chapters; I just was short on words… Then, Yui's accent was to differentiate the two… The accent choice was just on a whim… I'll explain why Yui has an accent in this story. Who knows, it might turn into something more… THANK YA!**

**LET'S GOOOOOOOO!**

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><p>In the fading morning mist a ship glided gently on the sky, creating ripples as it went. The sun shone gently in the sky, and even though it was already the second hour of full sunlight <strong>A.N. Around 7:00<strong> the air still had a very sleepy feel to it. On the peaceful ship a woman was standing alone at the side of the vessel, looking out into the sky. Well, not entirely alone.

Kaede closed her eyes, inhaling the pure air around her, untainted and clear. The scent of the morning breakfast had already faded away, and only if one concentrated very hard could they detect the faintest linger. Giggling a little upon remembering how Kurogane had been personally overseeing that the twins were fully awake (and dressed) when they went to cook, Kaede mentally reviewed the names and faces she had learned over the past few days.

There was Yui and Fai (of course!), the twins she had met, the troublemakers apparently. Then there was Kurogane, the tall man, definitely the enforcer of rules. He was currently steering the ship. His wife was Sôma, who had been helping Kaede around the ship. She was the map charter, but Kaede had no idea what a map charter was. Sôma was very beautiful.

There was also Tomoyo, the pretty woman around Kaede's height. She was lending Kaede her clothes and was also giving Kaede possible remedies for her. Kaede couldn't be more grateful to the woman. Lastly, there was the captain. Kaede stopped when she came to his face, his amber eyes blazing and his light chocolate hair in messy disarray. Quickly banishing his face from her mind, Kaede pushed away the feelings of curiosity and turmoil that were welling up inside her and turned to see who was coming up the stairs.

It was two men with mid-length blonde locks and exactly identical- Yui and Fai. The two cooks half-heartedly carried two mops, sponges, and buckets full of water. Their punishment had already gone for three days, and only now had they finished the lower deck. The twins had abandoned the deck, putting off the trying task until they could no longer. The time had come, though, and to Fai and Yui's dismay, they had forgotten which part of the deck they had washed, forcing them to clean the whole deck again from start. Fai was already mumbling complaints, Kaede noticed, and giggled slightly to herself.

As she was about to call out a greeting to the twins, Kaede suddenly remembered something that had been bothering her since several days ago, but never had the chance to ask. Hesitantly walking toward the twins, she stopped to gather her courage. It was only one simple question! It wouldn't be that hard! With renewed determination the young lady started to walk toward the two blondes once more.

Fai sighed and looked at the mop in his hands disgustedly. This was quality-bonding time the blonde had never wished for. With deliberate slowness, the man reached for the bucket full of water to pull it closer to him, when he heard hesitant footsteps approaching him and Yui. Turning around to face whoever it was he turned around, nearly bumping into Kaede.

"Ah! I'm sorry!" The young lady squeaked. Fai grinned good naturedly and replied,

"Nah, it was my fault. Do you need something?" Kaede blushed and fidgeted a little.

"W-well, um, it's, I, uh…" She stammered, successfully attracting Yui to the scene, and made the blonde grin.

"Don't keep us wait'n now! Out with it!" The lean man ordered playfully. Kaede blushed even harder, almost backing away, before she stopped, appeared to pull herself together, and with a determined look in her eye blurted out quickly,

"Um, what are you doing with those sticks and buckets?" This took the two twins utterly by surprise. After standing there dumbfounded for a few minutes, the two seemed to finally snap back to reality, and Yui couldn't help but chuckle a little. Kaede blushed, dismayed and began to apologize profusely while backing away. Realizing his twin's mistake, Fai hit Yui to the back of his head, and hurried after Kaede. He too was attempting to hide a grin, but worry that the lady would fall back down the stairs like the last time made it easier to push away the smile.

"W-wait, Ms. Kaede! He didn't mean it in a bad way! Forgive the stupid brother there! Really, it's fine to ask! It's not bad or anything, we were just taken by surprise!" He caught the young lady by the wrist gently, and slowly guided her back to where a sheepish looking Yui was.

"U-um, so, it wasn't a… bad… question?" Kaede whispered nervously. Fai smiled kindly and shook his head.

"Not in the slightest bit. Here, we'll tell you." Motioning her to stay, Fai picked up a mop while Yui hastily picked up a bucket with a sponge. Turning back around to face the maiden, Fai showed her the mop first.

"This," He said, gesturing at the mop in his hand, "is called a mop. We stick the bottom of it in the water in the bucket, which is what Yui is holding, and slide it across the deck. This is called cleaning the floor."

"I'm also hold'n a sponge," Yui interjected, "Dip it inta the water as well, and ye scrub the walls or the floor. It also helps clean the ship. We a doing this as punishment since it be looooong and haaaaard." He dragged out the last words in his sentence as emphasis. Kaede studied the objects hard, before timidly asking once more,

"U-um, so why do you clean the ship? How does it help the ship?" She glanced at both twins nervously, watching them exchange confused glances, before it dawned on them.

"Oh! Well, ya see, the ship gets dirty after a while, like us. So, it's kinda like us givin the ship a bath. That way it won't stink, ya see?" Yui explained cheerfully. Kaede nodded with new understanding, and looked at the materials once more.

"Um… well, is it okay if I help? I want to try it out… oh! If it's not that much trouble that is!" The maiden stammered, and blushed again. Fai frowned, and replied,

"Well, since it was punishment, the captain forbade us from getting help from the crew…" Yui jumped on his twins back excitedly, earning a surprised _oof_ from the blonde below him. Before Fai could protest or make a sound Yui quickly said to him and Kaede,

"Right! So, that means she can be a helping us if she wants ta!"

"Get off of me you sack of potatoes! What do you mean by that anyway?" Fai asked, slightly annoyed from the unexpected attack. Yui grinned and slid off of Fai while sighing dramatically.

"Brother loves me not! Cruel I tell ya! Cruel! Anyhow," The blonde smiled widely, "The cap'n told us no help from the _crew_. He neva been sayin' anything 'bout _guests_! So, ya wanna help, Miss Kaede?" He turned to face the lady, who nodded her head up and down, albeit slightly bashfully.

"Um! Well, if it's okay…" She nervously said. Both twins smiled at her and waved at her as if to say, no worries! That was when the fun began.

Kurogane took a deep breath, trying his best to ignore the racket below him. 'Focus on the wheel, the wheel.' The man commanded to himself. His eye twitched slightly as a shriek was heard, followed quickly by crashes and thumps. After a little silence, giggles and chuckles were heard, accompanied by heavy apologies. And then the whole process would be repeated with little variations all over again. It. Was. Excruciating.

Kurogane was a man of steel. Steel eyes, steel heart, steel ass (heh heh), but above all, steel mind. Even the best torturers would never pry a word out of him (unless said torturer was Tomoyo- **no one** was safe from that woman), and he prided himself for that. However, this was seriously starting to test his patience and sanity. Trying to remember the breathing exercises he had been taught as a child to maintain peace of mind, the ninja took a slow deep breath in, lowering his defenses for just a moment…

And was promptly smacked in the face with a mop. Nervous apologies and laughing fell upon deaf ears as Kurogane simply took the mop, tossed it overboard (much to the dismay of the three below as now they would have to got get yet another one), and headed below deck. The man was going to find Sôma, and beg her to take wheel duty. If he were near the idiots and the empty-headed woman any longer he would surely lose it, and he was pretty sure the little miss had been traumatized enough.

"I'm so sorry!" Kaede apologized yet again. Yui and Fai laughed good-naturedly, shaking their heads. Fai had gone down below deck to get another mop, while Kaede hadn't been able to stop apologizing.

"It's not your fault Miss Kaede, it's Kuro-sama's! Yeesh, throwing our mop off the ship is just plain rude!" Fai said. Yui nodded his head in agreement.

"Ya'd think we'd have taught ta doggy by now." Yui chimed. He shook his head and sighed. "Hopeless case… Be so sad!" The blonde fake sniffled a little while his brother, getting on with the joke, patted him comfortingly, nodding very solemnly. While the two acted again a little, Kaede suddenly realized something.

"U-um, pardon me." Kaede said shyly. Fai and Yui shut up to turn around and give Kaede a questioning look, both cocking their heads to the opposite sides in exact sync. Kaede giggled a little at the sight, but before she could encourage the twins, she carried on with the question she had in mind.

"I've noticed that, Yui, you talk different than Fai, even though you are both… um…" Kaede started to grow more and more embarrassed, struggling to obtain the word that was evading her, what was it again? Thankfully Yui realized what word she was searching for, and helpfully provided the answer.

"Twins?"

"Ah! Yes, twins! Thank you! A-anyway, what I just have been wondering is that, um- well,"

"Why Yui talks with an accent?" Fai said. Kaede blushed, and stammered,

"I-if you don't want to tell me, you don't need to!" She blushed even more as Fai didn't say anything for a while. Yui was the one who answered though.

"Nah, it's fine, nothin' really. We were separated at four n'all. The world I was at jus spoke like this. Tha's all." There was a slight pause before Yui grinned and went on, "Well, Ima gonna go get that part of ta deck. Ya two clean here." Yui cheerfully went off to the part of the deck where he pointed to, humming a tune.

Kaede watched Yui carefully, mulling over what she had been told and Yui's expression. The woman wasn't sure, but somehow, Yui's smile and cheeriness and seemed a little… fake? Fai sighed, startling the woman out of her thoughts. Turning to look at the man, she saw the blonde shaking his head, looking at his brother with a mixed expression. It was rare when the twins wore anything but a smile, which gave Kaede the right to look even more startled than before.

"You can't lie well at all brother, we already cleaned that spot less than ten minutes ago." Fai said softly. The man didn't turn to face Kaede when he began to speak again, but the maiden was pretty sure he was talking to her.

"The world we were born in was called Celes. Everything was fine until we the year we turned four, then the country found out about us, our mother, and the fact that we were twins. She had been hiding us up until then, shielding us from that world. Twins were considered the worst omen there is, and our deaths were immediately arranged. It was then that we were smuggled away, me on one boat, Yui on another. It was arranged that we were to be taken in by kind families, and we were." Yui paused taking a breath, before he continued. Kaede could only listen, spellbound by the story.

"This is where my details will get a little sketchy, since Yui doesn't like to talk about this part much. From what I know, Yui's curse of being unlucky seemed to follow him. He had been living there for a year when the family had been murdered, everyone but him. Since his magical ability was already developing by them, the murderers decided to keep him, deeming him useful. They talked the way Yui does now, so I'm guessing it rubbed off onto him. When we were thirteen, the fates tied our paths together again, and here we are. As you can imagine, he doesn't like talking about it."

Kaede didn't say anything for a while, watching Yui as he scrubbed the deck with a vigor not usually seen. He had moved to a spot they hadn't cleaned yet, at a corner of the ship. A faraway look was in her eyes, as the words of the twins' story swirled in her head. Noticing a change in the guest, Fai turned to face Kaede when a startled yell rang out. Fai and Kaede, shaken out of her trance, raced to where Yui was on his knees, sponge next to him, clutching his right hand.

"Yui! Are you okay?" Fai exclaimed, reaching his twin brother along with Kaede and Sôma's, who had abandoned her post at the wheel to see what was wrong. Yui tried to smile up at then, but ended up wincing instead.

"Y-yeah, just got small cut." Yui said weakly. Not believing his brother for a moment, Fai swatted Yui's left hand out of the way and turned his right hand over. A large gash ran from the top of Yui's palm to the bottom, blood staining his whole hand and his clothes. Fai took a sharp breath, while Kaede gasped.

"Hell, what happened?" Fai demanded, immediately taking Sôma's offered handkerchief and wrapping it around Yui's hand, trying to be as gentle as he could.

"Was nothin'." Forgetting that Fai still was wrapping his hand was a fatal mistake. Yui made a strangled noise as Fai tightened the cloth around Yui's hand, and reluctantly relented. "Hand went inta pile of glass, didn' see it. Tha's all." The man said. With his good hand, Yui pointed to a small mound of clear glass, visible because of the dark droplets staining the otherwise invisible fragments. Fai sighed, having finished tying on Yui's temporary blood stopper, was about to run his hand through his hair, saw how bloody it was, and decided against it.

"Glass on the deck isn't a big deal. Right, and the Captain sleeps with a teddy bear." Managing a small grin, Yui whispered loudly,

"It's not a teddy bear, it's a beany baby pig." Fai rolled his eyes and sighed exasperatedly, standing up before helping his twin up as well.

"Come on genius, let's go see Tomoyo. I'd rather not have your hand fall off anytime soon. Sôma, if you could clean the glass up? I don't know where it came from, but we've already had one injury to many because of it." Fai said. Sôma nodded, and taking the abandoned sponge and nearly empty bucket into her possession, the woman began to clean it up, graciously denying the Kaede offered. Kaede watched the woman sweep up the fragments and carefully made sure there weren't any left before she dumped the now full bucket's content out into the 'sea'.

After Sôma had left to resume her duty, Kaede went down the stairs to her room. Locking the door, the maiden sat on the floor, looking out of the tiny porthole at the view of the sea. She stayed there for a long time, eventually nodding off.

*(-_-)*

Whispers surrounded Kaede, whirling in a circle around her. The woman couldn't explain why, but she knew they were calling her name. She wanted to see, but her eyes wouldn't open.

"What are you saying? Please be louder, I can't hear you! What is my name?" Kaede cried out. As if trying to help her, the whispers grew louder, more frantic, almost as if they were urging her, begging her to understand them. Forcing her eyes open, the voices immediately died, replaced by the sound of screams and roaring fire. Smoke disabled her ability to see, only allowing her images of blurred figures. Voices rang out, sentences starting to take form.

"…That boy…"

"How many… not a brat!"

"…Viscous…people my…"

"The sky is so beautiful!" The voices faded in and out, sometimes very clear, sometimes muffled and unclear. But one voice rang out the most, scaring her, angering her, and bringing such a torrent of emotions Kaede could barely stand up. It was one simple word, yet it didn't leave.

"Why?" Kaede sank to the ground, lost. Moments later, the world around her began to swirl, meshing and fading. As darkness enveloped her Kaede could hear one last lingering 'Why?' echo and begin to fade. Then, Kaede screamed.

0o0

Kaede woke up to loud rapping on her door and Tomoyo.

"Miss Kaede? Are you all right?" Tomoyo shouted through the door. Kaede calmed down a little, realizing slowly that it had been nothing.

"Er, yes, I am. Thank you for asking. Nothing but a nightmare." Kaede said as controlled as she could. There was a small silence from the other side, which had Kaede almost thinking that Tomoyo had left her alone, but that was not the case.

"You know… memories can sometimes manifest in the forms of dreams and nightmares." The healer began slowly. Kaede gave a forced laugh, and replied quickly,

"Oh no, I'm quite sure this was nothing but a bad dream. Nothing more! Thank you." Taking the hint, Tomoyo left, but not before she said one more thing.

"All right, but if anything happens, tell me. Oh, and the Captain invites you to dinner. If you don't want to go it's alright, I can tell you're a little shaken up." The small woman left before Kaede could respond, leaving Kaede to remember just exactly what made her scream. She shivered, rubbing her forearms. 'It could have just been my memory from the time I woke up here, that doesn't necessarily mean that I know him!' She thought to herself, but even in denial it was obvious that was a lie.

Not wanting to fall asleep in fear of what she might dream of, Kaede lay awake, looking at the ceiling of her small guest room. No matter what she did however, the last part of her dream kept coming back to her, those eyes that had just filled her eyesight somehow, just as the last why was fading away. Those cold, cold eyes. Those flashing, amber, eyes.

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><p><strong>End of Chapter 6<strong>

**I'm kinda proud of this one actually… Well, now I am very tired! See ya!**


	7. We Meet Once More

**The Heart's Hitsuzen**

**Chapter Seven: We Meet Once More**

**By: Eviltiger**

**Author's Note: Thank you Obsidian Buterfly for reviewing! I'm grateful you haven't abandoned this story and continue to give me feedback. I apologize for the long wait, on this story I had a writer's block. During that time, I created another story, which I promised not to do, but that one already has four chapters so I'm going to go ahead a publish that one anyway.**

**NOW, GOOOOOO!**

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><p>On the ship <em>Tsubasa<em> lunch had already been finished, the dishes cleaned, and the atmosphere had turned sleepy and satisfied. Most of the crew members were in their room or lying around lazily. No one was on deck, except for a maiden with hair the color of a sweet sunset.

Kaede walked around on the ship slowly, feeling a small breeze ruffle her hair. It had been a few days since she had experienced _that_ dream, and she hadn't seen the captain once in all those days. Enjoying the silence, the young lady tried to ignore the ceaseless questions inside her head. Pondering and straining to remember only gave her a headache, while no answers were ever revealed.

Sighing slightly Kaede looked out into the endless sky, the gentle lapping of sky water on the boat creating a soothing rhythm and relaxing her. Then, a small _click_ was heard. Curious, Kaede turned around to see the doorknob on the door next to the steering wheel turn. The door belonging to the Captain's quarters. Kaede already knew that the man had an interesting sleep pattern, and wasn't alarmed by the fact that the man had probably just woken up. What she _was_ alarmed about was that the Captain would most likely come down onto the deck. Kaede would have to face the Captain.

Remembering the night she had lost all her memories, Kaede shivered, and inadvertently took a step back. Then, remembering the nightmare she had, the maiden steeled herself. If Kaede wanted answers about her past, she was sure that man had a few. He had known her in the past, Kaede knew that for a fact, and she was going to find out who she was.

Pushing away the nagging voice in the back of her head, the young woman waited at the bottom of the stairs as the door of the Captain's quarters opened. Not being able to see the man, Kaede waited nervously as steady thumps signified that the man was drawing closer and closer to the lady.

When the man had reached the foot of the stairs, Kaede stepped out to face the still slightly sleepy Captain. Amber met jade for a moment, and the man's eyes widened in surprise.

"Sa-!" The man began, when something flickered in his eyes, and the man became fully awake. His eyes turning cold, Syaoran bowed to Kaede stiffly. "Good afternoon, Ms. Kaede." The man said in a flat tone. Gathering her courage before it all left her Kaede curtsied hurriedly in response. Then she spoke, her words coming out in a rush.

"Pardon me for asking, but how do you know me?" Kaede asked, staring at Syaoran's face. Syaoran stiffened, and slowly straightened up, but he did not meet Kaede's eyes.

"Our paths had been intertwined in the past. Good-day, Ms. Kaede." The man said, forcing out every word, before he started walking towards below deck. Kaede followed him, desperate for answers.

"How were they intertwined? Please let me know!" The maiden cried. Kaede jumped back as the Captain whirled around suddenly to look at her straight in the eyes. His eyes, which had been once guarded and cold, now were aflame, full of anger and pain.

"Do you really want to know? Because I don't think the truth would sit well with you, _Ms. Kaede_." The Captain said slowly, not even bothering to try and hide the spite out of his voice. The man then abruptly turned and walked down the stairs to below deck, leaving a shaken Kaede in his wake.

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><p>Kaede had stumbled and fell onto a barrel when the Captain had left. An hour later and the maiden was still sitting where she fell, still thinking about the interaction and the evasive answer he had given her. The shock had long disappeared, but frustration had grown were surprise had left. Kaede looked down at the ground, a frown splayed on her features, and a tinge of fear in her heart. What had she been like in her past? Was she really that horrible?<p>

The young lady was so caught up in her thoughts she failed to notice a certain blonde-haired twin until he sat down on the barrel next to her, causing her to jump.

"Whoa, easy there Ms. Kaede!" Fai exclaimed, holding his hands up. "Didn't mean to startle you." Upon realizing it was only Fai, Kaede relaxed and smiled at the blonde.

"I'm sorry Fai. I was just…"

"Lost in your thoughts?" Fai said, smiling kindly. Kaede hesitated, and then nodded meekly.

"Fai?" The maiden began slowly.

"I'm listening."

"W-what if- Do you think I could be a bad person?" Kaede said quietly, letting out what had been really bothering her since her talk with the Captain. Fai was confused for a moment, and then suddenly realized what was worrying the guest.

"What do you think?" The man asked, looking at Kaede. Not meeting Fai's gaze, Kaede whispered,

"I-I don't know. I want to believe that I'm not, but-but!" A comforting hand warmed Kaede's shoulder, as Fai looked at her warmly.

"Ms. Kaede, if you want my opinion, you are one of the farthest people from evil that there is. You'll get your memory back, and even then you won't be a bad person." His words soothed the maiden, and Kaede gave a tiny smile.

"Thank-you." Kaede said softly. Fai gave a half-smile and then stood up from the barrel he was sitting on.

"Anytime, Ms. Kaede. You know-" Whatever Fai was going to say next was completely drowned out by the rapid patter of feet bouncing up the stairs and incoherent shouting. The next thing Kaede knew Tomoyo appeared from below deck and completely steamrollered over poor Fai in her effort to reach Kaede.

"Ms. Kaede! Ms. Kaede!" The woman said excitedly, gripping Kaede's hands. "Don't get your hopes up now, because I'm not sure if it works all the time, and I've never brewed it before-" Tomoyo's rambling was cut short by a groan from Fai.

"As much as I love you, please get off me Tomoyo! You can finish your explaining after that!" Fai ground out, and sighed in relief as the woman on top of him nimbly leaped off, and without missing a beat continued to chatter on to the bewildered Kaede.

"I believe I can help your memory return to you with a concoction I found the instructions to in one of my older books!" The woman said excitedly, before taking Kaede's hand and practically dragged the young woman in an effort to reach below deck faster.

"Something to make my memory return?" Kaede echoed curiously. Tomoyo nodded and began to ramble once more.

"I was researching in some of my older books, and there it was! At first I thought this was too good to be true, and then realizing that the main ingredient was the vanishing mist stars, they're very rare after all, I thought we were done for, since my stocks had been dangerously low. But then I remembered that the Captain had replenished my supply, and without me even asking! He always knows, that man!"

Kaede was silent for a little while, digesting this with a small weight in her stomach. After a few moments of silence, save for the frantic breathing of Tomoyo and the pitter patter of footsteps Kaede remembered something Tomoyo had said a few nights before, when Kaede had woken up screaming.

"Um… Pardon me, but did the Captain really invite me to dinner that one night?" Kaede's question was mumbled, but not unheard by the sharp-eared healer. The woman smiled and looked back at Kaede.

"Did you think I was making that up?" The jade-eyed maiden blushed as she realized what she had been implying and shook her head furiously.

"N-No! Forgive me for making such assumptions-" Anything else Kaede was about to stutter out was silenced when a small tinkling laugh was heard from the woman in front of her. Tomoyo was laughing with a twinkle in her eye, clearly just giving Kaede a hard time.

"It's all right, it was a legitimate question I suppose what with the strange way Captain behaved to you, but even if his worst enemy boarded his ship as a guest, he would treat him, albeit somewhat, as a guest. That's his way of doing things, and so even if he lost his composure once, the man still will be courteous to you." Tomoyo said, choosing her words as to not upset Kaede. Kaede simply nodded, taking in the information, and silence reigned once more.

Finally, the two reached the healer's cabin, and Tomoyo practically flung the door open in her excitement. Kaede followed her, still being half-dragged by the wrist, and sat down when Tomoyo gestured her to a seat on one of the beds. Tomoyo herself went to the desk that was in one of the corners of the room, and picked up a vial of murky pearly liquid. Nodding in confirmation, the lady turned to face Kaede.

"Now, I'm just going to put this into a cup for you, and then you just have to down it quick. Excuse me!" The woman sprinted out of the room, and Kaede couldn't help but worry that Tomoyo would trip or run into something and the contents would be lost forever. It was quite surprising to see Tomoyo so hyper, and Kaede couldn't help but feel cheered by the raven-haired woman's atmosphere.

In less than a few minutes later Tomoyo came charging back, mug in one hand, and empty vial in another. Breathing heavily the woman handed the mug to Kaede, and started watching the maiden intensely.

"So, I simply drink it?" Kaede was confirmed with a quick nod. Slightly unnerved by Tomoyo's gaze, Kaede lifted the mug to her lips hesitatingly. The potion smelled like lilacs, but the maiden wasn't so sure she wanted to down something that had the aroma of perfume. Gathering her wits, the young woman drank the potion quickly, nearly gagging at the taste. It wasn't really the taste actually as it was more the _texture_. It was cold and slimy, just sliding down her throat like a slug would.

Finishing the contents of the mug, the lady set the cup down and waited. Tense seconds ticked by a Kaede waited for something to happen. Anything to happen. Tomoyo kept on watching Kaede, but frowned after five minutes were up.

"Do you feel any dizziness, headache, light-headedness?" The woman questioned, peering at Kaede curiously. The maiden shook her head, disappointment starting to seep into her. Tomoyo frowned even more at the response and screwed her eyes shut while mumbling. After a few moments of mumbling, the violet eyes flew open with realization. Tomoyo slapped her head and jumped to her feet, startling Kaede.

"Of course! I forgot! The person must see or come in contact with an object from their past, such as a piece of jewelry, a tattoo, clothing, anything! I must find the clothes we found you in that night! Just sit tight while I go off searching for them, how forgetful of me!" With that Tomoyo left with a whirl of her clothes and Kaede was once more alone in the sickroom. Minutes walked by and still Kaede sat. For once, impatience was beginning to stir in the maiden. She wanted to know! She needed to know!

Then, just as Kaede was about to stand up, the room grew cold. Shivering, the maiden stared in fear and curiosity as a thick dark smog began to fill the room. Judging by the shouts from up aboard, the smog was there too. Looking around, Kaede shrank back, worry and panic slowly starting to pump adrenaline into her blood.

Loud thumps and shouts were heard and then the ship began rocking violently back and forth. Kaede shrieked, and fell off the bed she had been sitting on. The ship tossed the maiden into the hard wood of another bed, making pain blossom on her face. Clutching the right side of her face, Kaede huddled in a corner of the sickroom, desperately wanting to know what was going on.

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><p>Above deck the Captain of the <em>Tsubasa<em> was awake and giving his crew orders. His amber eyes blazed as he caught sight of the ship attacking his vessel with their auras. Fei-Wang Reed. Of course. Syaoran curled his lip; the _Black Wings_ was coming closer and closer to his ship. What were they trying to do? They weren't possibly-

"TOMOYO!" The Captain roared. A few moments later the ebony-haired woman rushed up from below deck.

"Captain?" Tomoyo looked Syaoran straight in the eye, awaiting his orders.

"They filthy bastards are trying to board! Keep them out." With Tomoyo rushed off, and the Captain watched grimly as Yui began to expand his aura into a blue shield, preventing any other auras from coming in. That left Syaoran to get rid of the aura that was already inside.

The man closed his eyes and felt his magic pulse lazily in him. Summoning his strength, the pulse began to beat faster and faster until a fiery aura was exploding out of Syaoran. The Captain unsheathed his sword, and began cutting away at the thick web of black all over the ship. Drawing all his energy, the man used his sword to amplify his aura and create a massive surge, wiping out all traces of the dark smothering force.

Sighing, the man sheathed his sword and controlled his aura once more until it was nothing more than a small pulse. Opening his eyes once more, Syaoran heard a cry from Yui.

"CAPTAIN! GET DOWN!" Ducking immediately, Syaoran felt a sharp aura shoot right over him, tearing his shirt to reveal his back. If the Captain had been standing, the man would have been dead. The brown spear like aura was quickly disintegrated by a flash of green afterwards, courtesy of Kurogane. Yui yelled his apologies, and that was that.

The ship now had planks connecting the two vessels, and Syaoran could see Fei-Wang Reed staring at him with a calm expression. Anger flared in him once more, and Syaoran hoped for a moment that Reed himself would cross onto Syaoran's ship, so the amber-eyed man could run the devil through his sword.

No such thing happened however, and Syaoran knew even if the pirate had lost his mind and decided to cross, he would be unconscious before he even stepped foot on the _Tsubasa_. Judging by the way Fei-Wang Reed narrowed his eyes and didn't let anyone of his servants cross, the man knew it too. Reed sent a glare at Tomoyo, who simply smirked and continued to hold the curse that she had placed on the _Tsubasa_'s perimeter.

Then, Syaoran signaled to Fai, who began to use his aura to send the _Tsubasa_ away from the other pirate ship, and before long the _Black Wings _was steadily fading from sight. Jeers and taunts fell upon uncaring ears as the members aboard Syaoran's vessel made sure that Fei-Wang Reed's ship was long out of sight before they relaxed.

Everyone breathing a sigh of relief, the crew began to assess the damage that had been done to their ship and their people. Surprisingly few injuries were found on the crew and ship, which made the air considerably more light-hearted. The Captain grinned as well, and allowed himself to feel a little elation.

Everyone was happy and grinning, there moods so fine Syaoran couldn't help but feel that he the Captain was forgetting something. He was. A small voice made the Captain's blood run cold. It was only one word uttered, yet that one word held so much: realization, shock, disbelief, guilt, but above all, hatred.

"Syaoran."

The man stiffened, and the crew went deathly silent. Turning slowly, the Captain lifted his eyes to look at the person in front of him, Syaoran's back exposed now to the crew. The peanut gallery's eyes widened, taking in the brand, almost like a tattoo on their Captain's back. It was a huge skull with crossbones, taking up most of Syaoran's back. A brand meant as a punishment. Steady amber met flashing green as Syaoran looked at the maiden if front of him straight in the eyes.

"Sakura."

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><p><strong>End of Chapter 7<strong>

**YAHOO! Sorry for the wait. **


	8. Sakura's Story

**The Heart's Hitsuzen**

**Chapter Eight: Sakura's Story**

**By: Eviltiger**

**Author's Note: I don't own anything. Chapter EIGHT! It's an amazing moment… Let's hope I keep this story running before it dies out on me… Please pretty, pretty, pretty please review! THANK YA ASTRID01! **

**ARIGATOOOOOO!**

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><p><em>"Syaoran." <em>

_The man stiffened, and the crew went deathly silent. Turning slowly, the Captain lifted his eyes to look at the person in front of him, Syaoran's back exposed now to the crew. The peanut gallery's eyes widened, taking in the brand, almost like a tattoo on their Captain's back. It was a huge skull with crossbones, taking up most of Syaoran's back. A brand meant as a punishment. Steady amber met flashing green as Syaoran looked at the maiden if front of him straight in the eyes._

_ "Sakura."_

Even the ship herself seemed to suddenly quiet down, everyone's attention focused on the two people near the stairs of the ship. None of the crew dared to make a move, sensing the vast amount of tension and intensity in the air. The jade-eyed maiden, Sakura as Syaoran had called her, met the Captain's gaze steadily and finally broke the silence.

"I suppose I should thank you for rescuing me." Her voice held no warmth, and the crew wasn't sure, but they almost could agree that they had heard a touch of bitterness and irony as well. Syaoran tensed, and then bowed very formally.

"Anyone would have done the same." He returned the same winter chill in his tone. Straightening up stiffly, the man made a seemingly innocent comment.  
>"The dimension of Japan is our next destination." Sakura smiled frostily and replied.<p>

"That's sounds like quite a lovely dimension; I can't wait to see what splendors it could hold." It seemed like such a polite and formal conversation, but the crew knew better. _"You're getting off at the dimension of Japan." "Wonderful, please hurry with it."_ It was needless to say there was some mutual feeling of hatred that the two shared. Then, after a little silence, Sakura spoke again.

"I feel a little tired, if you will excuse me, I will retire to the guest room. Good day." Giving a frigid curtsy, Sakura proceeded to walk down the stairs to below deck. After she was out of sight Syaoran walked up the small flight of stairs to his private quarters, and locked the door. The crew finally broke their silence.

"Cripes, ya feel that air? Was getting' cold just listenin' ta them!" Yui remarked, rubbing his arms to emphasize the point. Fai shook his head and whistled slowly.

"I'll be damned, those two hate each other! Wonder what happened between them?" The blonde with one blue eye remarked. The blonde turned to look at Kurogane, who simply shrugged.

"For once, your guess would probably be as good as mine." The tan man rumbled. The two turned upon hearing a noise from Tomoyo. The woman had a deep frown on her face, and was marching towards the stairs leading to below deck.

"Er… Tomoyo? What might ya be doin?" Yui asked anxiously. The woman stopped and turned around impatiently.

"I'm tired of the secrets. As much as I respect the Captain's and Ms. Ka-er Sakura's privacy I believe we have a right to a few answers." Ignoring Sôma's protest, Tomoyo carried on. "There's no harm in trying to ask politely, and besides, I need to check on my patient." With that the woman whirled around and disappeared below deck. Fai shook his head while watching her go, while smiling softly.

"That woman's nerve never ceases to amaze me." The blonde said. Sôma shook her head while replying,

"She'll never cease to astound anyone with that nerve of hers! And she almost makes it sound as if she is doing nothing wrong with the way she chooses her words!"

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><p>The brave crusader (Tomoyo) knocked softly on the door of the guest room on the <em>Tsubasa<em>. A muffled 'come in' was heard, and the ivory hands opened the wooden door. Sakura was sitting primly on the bed inside the room, looking at Tomoyo.

"Sorry for bothering. I just wanted to see if you were all right." The healer said. "Any dizziness or general mental discomfort?" Sakura smiled and shook her head.

"No, nothing of the sort." A small silence filled the room, before Tomoyo spoke once more.

"I never knew there was a brand on the Captain's back." The woman remarked. Sakura's eyes darkened, and this time when she smiled, it held a slightly bitter and sorrowful look.

"I suppose you would like to know what's going on." The auburn-haired woman said, looking at Tomoyo. Without missing a beat the healer nodded.

"Yes, I think we all would like to." Tomoyo replied. Sakura nodded, curtly this time.

"Right. I'm assuming this is a tale no one would want to miss. Do you want to go get the rest of the crew?" At this Tomoyo chuckled.

"No need to fetch them Miss." Tomoyo said with a twinkle in her eye. Getting up, she walked towards the door silently, before yanking it open quickly. Two blondes fell on the floor immediately while one tall tan man a little ways from the door looked slightly guilty but not the least bit ashamed. "They're already here." She finished. Sakura giggled, and then motioned for everyone to come into the room.

Once everyone was settled down, the light-hearted atmosphere quickly faded (it was replaced with something a lot heavier) and Sakura sat down in a way to face everyone in the room. After taking a deep breath, the woman lifted her eyes up, and began her story.

"My name is Sakura. I grew up on the planet Mokona, with a sweet amber-eyed boy with a heart as big as the sun. He is now your Captain. Your Captain hates me, and I can tell you why." Pausing, the woman thought for a few moments and then began to speak again.

"I guess it all started a long time ago. As you know, sky pirates are usually considered a great evil. The country of Mokona simply happened to regard your kind even more harshly than most. Particularly in the town I lived in. We had always received the worst treatment from pirates, be it sky or sea. A man had been in charge of capturing and punishing all pirates. That man had a daughter who fancied a young orphaned boy. That man was my father. He was a very kind person, and didn't discriminate simply because of social status, in fact the only kind of person he really could not accept were pirates. So he allowed his daughter to play and become friends with that boy. Now, that boy held an interest in the sky and sea, land was never really his favorite. But only his friend knew, and she promised she would keep it a secret forever." Sakura took a breath before continuing. The whole room was completely silent; no one wanted to interrupt her.

"After years went by, that young boy grew into a handsome teen, while the girl continued to be a friend to him and yes, fancy him. One day, I found Syaoran at the sky port, talking to a band of pirates. Even soliciting with pirates was considered a crime back then, and I confronted him later that day about it. It appears that those men had known his father, and Syaoran, desperate for knowledge, talked it out of them. He told me it would be only once, and I knew he was speaking the truth. I swore I would never tell anyone, especially not my father. However-" Sakura broke off, her eyes narrowing with anger.

"However, someone else had seen everything. A servant of my father's household, his name Kimihiro Watanuki, always had a nasty habit of following me around. I should have been more careful. The _rat_ immediately went to my father, and told him everything. Kimihiro never liked Syaoran. I was too late to intervene. I found out all of this only after I saw my father walking towards me, demanding where Syaoran was, and Kimihiro behind him, his grin too wide for his face. It wasn't too hard to find Syaoran. He didn't suspect a thing after all… And then…" This time when Sakura stopped it was pain that flashed through her eyes, the memory apparently reliving itself. Taking a deep breath, the maiden continued.

"First they officially banned him from our town. Then they marked him with the brand of a pirate: skull and crossbones. Last were the fifty lashes. I was there. I watched him the whole time. Every single lash he looked me straight in the eye for at least a moment. Every single lash 'why?' was whispered, screamed, shouted, or mouthed. Every... Single... Lash." Sakura looked at the ground, not meeting any of the crew members' gazes. Retelling the story brought back to the surface the memories she so desperately wanted to forget.

_ The town square was packed with people, watching the poor boy with helpless pity. Everyone had liked the boy, he had never done anyone harm. But one girl in particular was affected the most. Every lash the auburn-haired girl winced, as if she was taking the blow instead of him. An iron grip on her shoulder yielded no comfort, and the silent sniggering next to the man also known as her father angered her beyond reason._

_The worst pain, however, was still Syaoran. Every lash Sakura felt as her own, wishing she could stop it all. Syaoran had stopped screaming now, but if Sakura looked hard enough, she could still see his mouth moving with each hit. Why? Why? Why? Sakura had forgotten how to close her eyes, forced to watch the gruesome scene in front of her. Salt rivers ran their course that day, never ceasing until the heaviness of sleep consumed the jade-eyed maiden._

Yui jerked the woman out of her memories, his voice sending her back to reality. Accompanied by reality, however, was the sharp reminder of how that was only one part of the tale. Sakura narrowed her eyes in pain, fresh waves assaulting her, but this time for a different reason. So caught up was she in her emotions, Sakura nearly missed what the blue-eyed blonde had said.

"Er… Ms. Sakura, I-I know was wrong an all for the Captain to judge ya, but if ya jus tell him the truth… I mean, ya don't have ta be so cold…" Sakura stood up suddenly, startling everyone. Then, as if she seemed to calm herself, the young woman spoke in a steady voice.

"If it had only been at that I would have long ago forgiven him and it would have been me apologizing." Sakura said softly.

"But?" Kurogane had been brave enough to ask the question that was now eating at the crewmembers. Sakura's eyes flashed and this time when she spoke, emotions lay barely concealed.

"But that man did something unforgivable. _Twice_. I will never forgive him!" The maiden said, her voice rising ever so slightly. Sensing that Sakura would probably not reveal much more and any more prying would do more harm than good Tomoyo stood up quickly, shooting a look at the others.

"I think it's high time we let Ms. Sakura rest. She has had a long day, and such events can be very tiring. We bid you good night, Ms. Sakura." Ignoring the questioning looks Tomoyo ushered the group out of the room.

"Thank you, good night." Sakura replied tiredly, and the crew saw just how much of a toll the day had taken on the normally energetic young lady. Smiling Tomoyo nodded, and gently closed the door once all of the crew had left. The deafening silence in the room made Sakura begin to think back once more, her memories swirling around her. One particular event came up in her mind. One of smoke and fire, screams rising around her, and terror. Great terror. Shutting her eyes quickly, Sakura prayed that she would fall asleep soon, although some part of her knew that escaping to the dream world would be of no help, the memories would follow her anyway.

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><p>The crew all filed one by one out into the hallway quietly, thinking over the information their guest had just revealed to them. One by one they all headed into their separate or shared quarters, and one by one they all fell into a deep sleep. If any of them had been paying better attention, however, they would have noticed the quick movement that had taken place before Tomoyo had opened the door, and that the broom closet next to Sakura's room had its door slightly ajar. If they had been paying any attention at all, they would have seen a tuft of chocolate brown hair in the closet due to the ray of light the crack let in, and the rapid pounding of their Captain's heart.<p>

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><p><strong>End of Chapter Eight.<strong>

**Many thanks to Astrid01! I wrote this one as fast as I could for you, hope the wait was worth it! THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR GETTING ME THIS FAR! And thank you everyone else who have been reading this, if all you hiding out there would only review, well, that would make things complete. Tried to stretch this one out, but it still be kinda short...**

**NOTE: I may not be able to write for two weeks or not, although that probably won't matter what with my unreliable writing schedule… Eh heh…**


	9. All Cards on the Table

**The Heart's Hitsuzen **

**Chapter Nine: All Cards on the Table**

**By: Eviltiger**

**Author's Note: Own nothing and all that jazz. WE HERE! CHAPTER NINE! I'm very surprised… I must take this time to thank all of you amazing wonderful people who reviewed and gave me advice on how to make my writing better and understandable. Thankfully everything passed without a hitch and I am able to continue typing. Love you all! I fixed something up in chappie one so it works out with my following chapters, but I don't know whether anyone would notice it or not. Ps. Astrid01, I just randomly picked an accent for Yui, there was no real thought behind it. I didn't even know if he was talking in an actual language accent or not… =3=' heh heh.**

**EMPIEZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR! (Although that technically means '**_**to**_** start'…)**

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><p>The normally carefree and cheerful atmosphere was thick with tension that morning on the <em>Tsubasa<em>. The Captain himself had woken up with everyone else to see their guest off, and was currently standing on deck with Sakura, although the distance between them spanned around a dozen feet. Even that seemed to close for the two, while Sakura bore holes into Syaoran, radiating barely concealed anger. The Captain, however, didn't look at the maiden at all. Occasionally, when secret glances that he thought no one could see were made, though, the crew saw confusion in their leader's eyes, but no anger whatsoever.

Sôma watched the interaction, or lack thereof, between the two, and couldn't push down the questions bubbling in her mind. She had no idea what to think now. Not a single one of the crew could believe that the Captain would do something unforgivable, the tall woman included. But clearly Sakura had been very distraught when speaking of the two unnamable acts he had done. While one mystery had been solved, more locked boxes had revealed themselves, ones that Sôma wasn't entirely sure she wanted to know.

The slowly dropping altitude of the sky ship began to notify everyone that they were about to land. It wasn't the most pleasant feeling in the world, and Sôma noted that Sakura had a slightly unhealthy tinge to her complexion. After years of experience it didn't bother the cocoa-skinned woman anymore, but she felt sympathy for their guest knowing how bad she had fared the first time she had ridden a sky ship.

Thankfully, before long the ship gracefully rested at the landing dock for such ships, and the sickening feeling of losing ones stomach receded. After a few moments of recovery, Syaoran announced the arrival.

"We are at our destination, Ms. Sakura." The woman gave him a curt nod of acknowledgment, and then turned to face the crew on a much more cheerful note. She turned to face the people she had grown fond of during her stay, and smiled.

"Thank you everyone for allowing me to stay and taking care of me. There will not be a day when I won't be grateful for you rescuing me. I wish you safety and luck wherever you sail." A chorus of voices responded to her small speech, yet Sôma couldn't help but notice that while Sakura had addressed everyone, it seemed as if she hadn't included the Captain in this, almost as if she was trying to forget his existence entirely. After the good-byes had been exchanged, Kurogane lifted a huge wooden plank up onto one shoulder, and then set it down in a way that it extended to the port, providing a make-shift ramp from the ship.

Thanking Kurogane, Sakura slowly made her way to the ramp. Then, Syaoran formally walked to the plank and bowed, showing common courtesy. Sakura had tensed however, when he had started to walk over to her. The young maiden shifted slightly on her feet, as if she wanted to run off the ship and get away from the Captain.

"I hope you enjoyed your stay." The Captain recited the formal line with a monotone polite voice. There was, however, absolutely no hatred behind the lines, a once normal passing when it came to Sakura. Auburn hair swished slightly as Sakura nodded while replying,

"I did. …Thanks." The words were full of ice and her last word had been forced out with slight difficulty. Then, the woman turned quickly away from Syaoran and was about to step out onto the board when the Captain's voice came once more.

"What did I do?" The words were rushed, as if the man had been containing the question for a long time, and couldn't any more. Sakura froze, and turned around slowly to face the Captain once more. Syaoran was looking at her with fierce, determined amber eyes, wanting an answer.

"Pardon?" The maiden's face was a cracking mask now, Sakura's true emotions slowly leaking through.

"What did I do to make you hate me so? I… I heard. You'll have to forgive me, but passing by your quarters I overheard your story. If I know you, I doubt you'd lie to people who aren't involved. If that is all a misunderstanding, then I must apologize, for everything. But, I have never done you any harm and-" Whatever the man was going to say next was drowned out by Sakura's voice, screeching.

"Never done me harm? NEVER DONE ME HARM? YOU LYING SCUM!" Shocked, the people witnessing could only watch as Sakura apparently lost it. The woman whirled at Syaoran and slapped him across the face. The sound echoed almost, and Syaoran touched his cheek. He had never known Sakura to do that, ever. The captain continued to stare dumfounded at Sakura, probably the most confused of everyone on the ship.

"YOU RETURNED TO OUR TOWN AND DESTROYED MY FAMILY'S HOUSE! YOU KILLED MY FATHER! YOU ATTACKED AND DESTROYED THE SHIP I HAD BEEN TRAVELING IN WITH MY MOTHER, TOOK MY NECKLACE, KILLED INNOCENT LIVES, MURDERED MY MOTHER, AND LEFT ME TO DIE! AND THEN, YOU HAD THE NERVE TO RESCUE ME WHEN I FELL INTO THE SEA JUST AFTER THAT!" Snapping to his senses Syaoran grabbed Sakura's wrist right before the woman could slap him again and shouted.

"YOU MAKE NO SENSE! I NEVER RETURNED TO THAT BLASTED TOWN! I NEVER DESTROYED ANY SHIP IN MY LIFE!" Sakura had tears now rolling down her face. Whether they were from anger or grief the crew couldn't tell.

"LIAR!" She screamed. "YOU STRUCK THE HOUSE DOWN WITH YOUR LIGHTING AURA! YOU MURDERED MY MOTHER WITH YOUR HUGE BROAD SWORD, YOUR EYES SHONE WITH EVIL!" Confusion rippled among the crew, and questions filled the air. Syaoran held Sakura's wrists gently now, and when he spoke it was in a quieter voice.

"M- S-Sakura. You need to calm down. We need to talk." The man spoke in a voice that held much curiosity, and concern.

"I have nothing to say to the likes of you!" Sakura hissed fiercely. Even though she had lowered her voice, the malice and hate was still there, if not sharper than ever. Syaoran sighed, before speaking once more.

"Just hear me out, okay? Afterwards, you don't need to have anything to do with me, but listen to me first. Think clearly, and look at the facts once they're all on the table. _Then_ you can deem me guilty of any sins you accuse me of. Are you going to judge unfairly?" This caught Sakura. Looking at the man after a moment or two of silence, she narrowed her eyes and replied,

"Fine, I will hear out any pathetic excuse you have. I can't wait to hear the lies you will spin for me." Syaoran nodded, and then gestured to his quarters.

"There is a table for two in my room. I would prefer if we talked alone at the moment."

"I hope I can trust you that much?" Sakura said coolly. At her words laced with an implication Syaoran gave a bitter grin.

"My crew may not be able to hear soft words uttered behind a door, but screams can be heard by anyone, anywhere." His response was so blunt and straightforward Sakura couldn't help but turn slightly red, before forcing a smile.

"Lovely.

...

Syaoran closed the door to his quarters after Sakura had entered, and turned to face the maiden. Jade-green eyes cut like a knife and the Captain couldn't help but feel impressed at Sakura's display of dislike: when she had been younger, to even think something mean about someone had been impossible. A twinge of sadness and worry shot through him as he realized what that meant. While Syaoran had faced hardships of his own, Sakura probably had faced just as many. Pushing all feelings away and stuffing them into a corner, the man gestured to the table.

Walking over to the nearest seat the man slid out the chair and offered it to Sakura. Nodding icily the woman sat down with rigidly. Then, once the maiden had been seated, Syaoran went to his own chair. The man sat down, and then looked up to meet Sakura's eyes.

"Ms. Sakura, please recount to me the night your father was killed." Sakura flinched as if she had been struck, and remained still for a moment.

"I don't see why I have to repeat it all to the murderer himself, but fine. It had been two years since you were banned. It was a stormy night, dark foul weather. Lightning struck our house, and slowly began to burn everything. In the midst of the chaos, a man stepped through the front door. He walked calmly, lightning crackling around him, his aura, of course. Then, reaching my father, I recognized the face. Your face. Your cold flashing amber eyes, full of a strange light! How can you deny it was you?" By the end of her account, Sakura was trembling, shaking with anger even if she didn't raise her voice. Syaoran frowned.

"Are you sure it was my face?" The man asked carefully, as if any wrong word might set off a bomb. Sakura gave a strangled sort of laugh.

"Of course! You yourself held the lightning up to your face so we could see who it was!"

"Sakura. I don't have a lightning aura. You know I have a fire aura. You know I can't mask my it to make it look like lightning. You know all this." The man spoke slowly, and summoned a small flickering flame into his hand, to show the woman. A moment passed, and the man could see Sakura's fierce belief cracking.

"Then how come it was your face?" Sakura whispered, no ill-intent in her voice anymore, just confusion and grief. Syaoran frowned and leaned back to think.

"I don't know. There are a few possibilities… like someone disguising his face to look like mine, or using their aura to create an illusion… The question is why?" After a few moments of silence, Syaoran looked at Sakura. The young woman wasn't looking at Syaoran, and her head was bowed. Finally, Syaoran spoke once more.

"Sakura… you said that your mother was also killed by… by me?" Sakura looked at Syaoran, and then nodded.

"That time we were sailing on the ship _Meriela_." Syaoran jerked and beat Sakura to speaking.

"That's the ship that Fei-Wang Reed set afire! The night we rescued you… He had your necklace… The one you always wore…" Realization dawned on the two as all cards were on the table.

"You don't think that _Fei-Wang_ is the mastermind behind this all?" Sakura questioned, her eyes wide. Fei-Wang Reed was a hated name, one everyone knew of. Syaoran nodded.

"I do. He meddles in dark magic and auras, there are probably numerous ways he could make me appear to be the one behind it all. What I don't understand is why he would do such….. Sakura, your necklace, does it hold any magical significance?" Syaoran was pacing now around the room, the chair abandoned.

"I-I don't know. It probably does, since my grandmother was the one who had made it." Syaoran turned to face Sakura.

"Yuko Ichihara?" Sakura nodded in confirmation. Syaoran sighed, and then pulled out his own necklace from under his shirt.

"Yuko Ichihara and Clow Reed. Two of the most powerful magicians in history. Two necklaces made by them passed down to us. Mine given to me at birth with a note attached, yours given to you on your 6th birthday. Fei-Wang Reed took your necklace, and has already made two failed attempts to secure mine. For one reason or another, they are important." When Sakura spoke again, there was worry in her voice.

"He already has my necklace. Do you think this could bring us trouble?" Syaoran shook his head.

"I doubt it. I think he needs both necklaces in order for whatever he needs to do. If using one would give him an advantage, he would have used the necklace when trying to take mine. So for now, we should be safe." Sakura frowned, relieved, but something was still bothering her.

"We have no idea what he plans to do, and why. What is next?" Syaoran walked towards Sakura, and looked her in the eyes.

"Next is for you to decide whether you want to still leave, or help us try and solve this." Sakura let out a small childish huff, which couldn't help but remind Syaoran of the younger Sakura.

"Do you think I'm going to leave now? It's my necklace! And besides," Sakura said, turning grave, "There are two murders that must be repaid." Syaoran looked at Sakura, surprised for a moment, and then nodded swiftly.

"We will need to inform the crew about everything. Is that alright with you?" The Captain said. Sakura nodded, and then stood up from the table. Pushing in her chair, Syaoran's voice stopped her.

"You knew everything I had told you. You knew I can't disguise my aura. Yet you still attached yourself to the thought that it could only be me. Why?" Sakura didn't move for a few moments, and then turned around to face Syaoran.

"Why did you think that I had told my father? For the same reason. People change Syaoran. We didn't know what to think. That's all." Syaoran looked at Sakura in shock. A small silence filled the air, before Syaoran gave a bittersweet sad sort of smile. Nothing was said, but there was no need for words. After a few moments, Syaoran spoke, composed, and it was as if the last few moments had never happened.

"Well, I suppose we should go tell the crew what's going on." Opening the door, the Captain gestured politely. Nodding, Sakura walked towards the doorway. Stumbling slightly on a slightly raised board, the woman shot out her hand, and brushed against Syaoran, regaining her balance. Immediately, Sakura retreated her hand as if she had been stung, and took a step back. Syaoran himself backed away fast as well, bumping into the wall. After a few tense moments, the two suddenly remembered there was no reason to be hostile to each other anymore. Relaxing, the two shuffled awkwardly and fumbled for something to say.

"S-sorry." Sakura stuttered out at last. Syaoran shook his head and mumbled a few words, but the look on Sakura's face made the man stop.

"I mean, sorry. For drawing to the wrong conclusion. For everything." Syaoran smiled that sad smile once more, and bowed his head.

"Your not the only one who needs to apologize. I'm sorry as well." Silence fell over the two once more, before Syaoran gestured to the door once more. Nodding silently, Sakura walked out, followed by Syaoran.

…...

"….Sakura and I will go searching on land for someone who knows information and can help us. All of you need to act as a decoy to Fei-Wang Reed, so he believes I am on the ship. That is all. I will understand if anyone wants to quit and leave. You are all free to leave if you want now." Syaoran finished re-telling all the facts, and turned to face the crew, waiting for their decision. None of the members of the crew budged an inch. Kurogane snorted, while Yui laughed.

"There be no way a body here gonna kick heel! We all be stayin cap'n!" The blonde said, smiling with a determined look in his eyes. Syaoran smiled, and bowed.

"Thank you everyone. Sôma, contact me with your aura ability if anything goes wrong. I hope we will all be together once more." Sôma nodded, while Fai grinned.

"Don't be so pessimistic Captain! Nothings going to happen to _us_, we should be the ones worried!" The cook joked. Giving a half smile, Syaoran nodded, and then turned to look at Sakura. The woman nodded as well. Turning once more to face the crew, Syaoran said two words.

"Good-bye." The man then turned and extended his hand politely to Sakura, who then walked down the plank that had still been there the whole time. Afterwards Syaoran himself then turned, and walked down the wooden board, not looking back once. Good-bye. Those would be the last words one crew member would ever hear from their captain.

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><p><strong>End of Chapter 9<strong>

**0.0 Yes, there will be character death. Can ya guess who it'll be? **


	10. The Welcome to Kyoto

**The Heart's Hitsuzen**

**Chapter Ten: The Welcome to Kyoto **

**By: Eviltiger**

**Author's Nooooote: Nothing is mine! XD Oh wait! This AU's plot is mine! Goodies! Thank you so much for all your reviews! Really sorry haven't updated lately! ****And Astrid01, if you can update for nearly every chapter, that makes someone freaking awesome, not a fail!**** If anything is unlikable or confusing, please tell me so I can fix it up! Thank you! Justice333 THANK YOU! You review a loooooot! **

**YEAAAAAAAAAH!**

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><p>Walking down the plank from the ship, Syaoran took a deep breath. Then, the Captain took his first step onto land in four years. Looking around at the surroundings, Syaoran noticed for the first time how noisy the port was. Men laughed, women tittered, barrels rolled on the wooden ground making loud sounds, merchants had little stalls, selling various items, and there was one small scuffle near one side of the port. The sights overwhelmed him, along with the accompanying sounds and smells. The Captain staggered back, and closed his eyes for a moment. Then, taking a deep breath, he began to walk forward.<p>

When he opened his eyes he saw Sakura looking at him curiously, a little ways ahead. Nodding that he was fine, the man went to her, ignoring the throbbing in his head and the weakness in his legs. When he had reached the waiting Sakura, the jade-eyed woman spoke.

"What is our first step?" Sakura asked, waiting for Syaoran to respond. The amber-eyed man struggled to think intelligently and gather his thoughts. His head swimming, the man thought for a while, trying to sort everything out. After his head was somewhat cleared and the man could think more or less straight, it had been at least two minutes since Sakura had asked the question. Attempting to save face, the Captain replied in a deciding voice,

"Ask around if there is a person who has knowledge of magical items, or magic at all. In the evening we should find an inn to stay in." Sakura nodded in consent.

"How about heading to restaurants and bars? There are lots of people in such places normally, and drunken men talk." Upon hearing Sakura's comment, Syaoran raised an eyebrow, looking at Sakura curiously. Noticing, the maiden blushed and looked away.

"Is there a problem with my suggestion?" She said curtly. The man shook his head quickly.

"No, no! I was simply wondering where you learned to use such… ah… bluntness." As jade eyes stood out even more against a deep red face, Syaoran changed the direction of the conversation. "It's a good idea. Shall we get started?" Looking at Sakura, the woman nodded in confirmation, and the pair went off.

As it turned out, Kyoto, the city the _Tsubasa_ had made port in, was perfect for gathering information. Being located in an optimal place for both ships of water and sky, there were many foreigners in the city. Being as there were many outsiders in the city, there were also many inns, restaurants, and places that sold liquor.

Walking down a crowded dusty street, Sakura observed the town with wide eyes, Syaoran close behind the woman and never letting the maiden stray too far away. As he watched the maiden in front of him, the man let his thoughts wander to said woman. Since the time they had rescued her to now, the man had pushed away all thoughts of the lady into the back of his head. Now, however, they began bubbling back up to the surface, and he allowed them to come.

She had definitely changed since he had last seen her. Sakura wasn't just a cute, bumbling, innocent teenager anymore with coordination problems- she was a lady, and a beautiful one at that. Every move she made emanated elegance. But she not only had changed physically. The woman had suffered many hardships, forcing her to grow up and face the cruelty of the world. They both had. Syaoran's hands curled into a fist, feeling imaginary lashes beat down on his back.

Raising his head that he had unconsciously lowered, the man looked at the woman who was currently looking at everything in sight with almost childlike curiosity. He could tell, however, that she was also carefully scanning the road for any signs of that would notify them of a place serving alcohol. A glimmer of a smile crept onto his face as he watched Sakura stumble for a second and then regain her former position of grace. Perhaps that girl she had once been hadn't entirely disappeared.

He could feel the hatred of four years for Sakura begin to slowly fade away, bit by bit, but was surprised to discover something else as well. He had always harbored a liking for Sakura, more than just as friends, but when he had been supposedly betrayed by her, the love had been crushed. When he had realized that everything had been a misunderstanding, the man couldn't believe it at first. The whole night he had thought she had been lying, and had silently ranted over it before coming to realize she couldn't act that well. But now, the amber-eyed man knew he had just been afraid to accept the truth, afraid that he would love her again, afraid that he might be crushed again.

However, looking at the women before him, his hate fading away, and everything else slowly coming to light Syaoran realized that he felt affection for the woman, as one might with a close friend, and he was happy to have gained a friend back, but that was it. There was no love, no deep emotions running through him. She was a friend. That's all.

Upon having this revelation, a rush of emotions flooded through the man. While a pang of sadness hit him, satisfaction smacked satisfyingly. Elation flooded through him, while guilt and self-loathing came after all the other feelings had been realized. Shaking his head, as if trying to shake the thoughts and emotions out as well, Syaoran saw Sakura stop abruptly just in time for him to backpedal so he would not collide with the maiden.

Sakura turned to face Syaoran, looking at the man while pointing to a sign a little ways from them on the right side of the street. Then the jade-eyed woman spoke.

"There's a place over there." Syaoran nodded uneasily, looking at the sign. It read _Hell's Bells__**1**__ - Drinks of the devil._ What told the man here wouldn't be where they found information wasn't the name or slogan, however: it was the way the sign looked old and worn, dusty ancient windows were cracked and rusted from disuse, and how at such a close proximity, there wasn't any noise coming from the pub. Nevertheless, the man nodded.

"We can take a look inside." Whether he was going to let them **stay** inside was a different story. Walking out towards the side of the road, the Captain kept looking at the bar. Up close, he found, the place looked even more decrepit, if possible.

Sighing inwardly, the man picked up his pace slightly so that he was next to Sakura instead of behind her. Then, opening the squeaky door and holding it out like the good gentleman he was, Syaoran took a look inside as Sakura walked in.

Inside the hole, as the Captain would refuse to ever call it a pub again, the place was dark and nearly empty. It reeked of mothballs and beer, while everything looked covered in about an inch of dust, including the occasional person in the room. None of this, however, was quite as horrid as the bartender. The man, if you could call it a man, was crouched behind the rotting wooden bar, oily hair overgrown and everywhere, flies circling him, and clothes so tattered and full of holes it wasn't certain if he was wearing any, or simply caked in his own filth. Long fingernails _green_ with mold scratched where the thing had supposedly a nose, before taking sight of the two who had just walked in.

Syaoran could feel Sakura freeze next to him as the thing turned its head with several pops and cracks to look at the two. Not that the Captain could blame her. Suppressing a shiver, the man stared as the thing looked at the pair with bloodshot eyes, before it smiled, but not in a friendly way. The smile did it. Before the man knew what he was doing, Syaoran grabbed the horror-struck Sakura who was fixated to the ground, and practically sprung towards the door, slamming behind him with a bang.

Even outside the man didn't stop, running away from the ditch as fast as he could, Sakura in tow. It wasn't until he couldn't even see that accursed place did the Captain cease sprinting, and checked to make sure Sakura was all right. After much panting and coughing from the duo, Syaoran was surprised to hear Sakura start laughing. On closer inspection, however, the man found the girl laughing hysterically, her eyes wide.

"Oh Heavens above! He had green fingernails! Green!" The woman gasped out, before resuming her hysterical laughter, her eyes growing wider by the minute. Thoroughly alarmed, Syaoran grabbed Sakura's wrists, and forced her to stare into his eyes.

"Sakura. Look at me. You're all right. We're out of there, and never going back." The maiden thrashed wildly for a little bit, before the Captain's words slowly started to sink in. Calming down, the woman realized what she had been doing and immediately composed herself; face heating up with embarrassment from such a display. Her hands, however, were still trembling ever so slightly.

"I-I apologize, I don't know what came over me. Shall we search for the next one?" Sakura said, her eyes not meeting Syaoran's. Studying the woman for a little while, the man replied.

"We don't have to search in bars. We can go to other places, safer ones. And if we absolutely need to, you wouldn't have to go inside; you could stay in an inn." Immediately, Sakura stiffened and looked at the Captain with determined emerald eyes.

"I am capable enough to go into a _bar_. Are we searching for the next one?" Her voice sounded indignant, yet rock firm. Syaoran knew this was a battle he wouldn't win. Sighing, the man nodded reluctantly.

"All right, let's go."

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><p>Their hunt for information in the bars was interesting if not mind-scarring. Once when they had questioned the sane looking bartender about a person who had knowledge of magical items, the man began to rant and rave about how magic was heretics and all practitioners should be burned at the stake. Then, turning on the two and accusing the duo of being witches, empty glass bottles were thrown at their heads as they ran out of the bar.<p>

Another one was actually a stripper club that the pair had mistaken for being a harmless (more or less) place serving alcohol and Syaoran had ran out of the place covering Sakura's eyes, both of their faces a deep shade of tomato. Such went on so forth, and every place they went to they kept receiving a general answer of zip, nada, goose eggs, or simply put, no. Tired and exhausted, the sun almost ready to set and still no information to get them anywhere, Sakura pointed out yet another bar, although much more reluctant and drained than she had originally been.

"So… How about this one?" The woman said wearily. Groaning, Syaoran turned to look at the sun, and then back at the bar. Sighing, the man said tiredly,

"We're finding an inn as soon as we're done." Nodding, Sakura closed her eyes for a moment, and then opened them quickly, renewed energy coming from a place Syaoran had yet to begin to fathom.

Before Sakura could open the doors to the bar, the Captain reached out and lightly tapped her wrist. As Sakura turned questioningly to look at the man, letting go of the door, Syaoran said,

"Don't stray too far away." Then he opened the door to let her inside. Rolling her eyes in mock annoyance, Sakura smiled briefly before walking inside, Syaoran following her closely.

The bar had a reasonable amount of people, but not enough to make Syaoran unable to see the other side of the room. Walking in, the man headed towards the most harmless looking person in the room, a man barely out of his teens looking completely wasted. Sitting down in the seat next to the boy, the man watched as Sakura looked around the room innocently, although he knew she was trying to discern the next easiest person to get information out of. Turning back to face the boy, who was now regarding him suspiciously, Syaoran gave a friendly smile, and began his assault.

"What's your name kid?" The boy thought for a second, collecting his mind, before replying,

"Masayoshi. You?" Syaoran waved off his question, dodging it subtly and doing so without the young man realizing so.

"Just a random passerby. Do you know of anyone who would be able to tell a small time magician like me about magical artifacts? I would like to learn more." Masayoshi snorted and shrugged.

"You think I know of anyone like that? If I did, I would have a woman on each arm because of a magical charm!" As the boy continued to lament over his less than desirable love life Syaoran sighed inwardly while pretending to listen and nodded every now and then. While Masayoshi continued to ramble on, Syaoran began to survey the room, looking for Sakura. Was she having any more luck than him? Apparently not.

Catching sight of the maiden, his eyes widened in alarm as he saw her being cornered by three men, all looking completely drunk and dangerous. While the men drew closer and closer, invading Sakura's space, Syaoran could feel his blood boil. Then, when one man, possibly the ringleader, stepped closer to her than the other two and reached out to stroke her cheek, the Captain stood up.

Walking away from Masayoshi, Syaoran began walking at a quick pace towards the three men, who had currently grabbed Sakura's arms while the head man was bending down to kiss the woman, his hands straying dangerously close to her body.

Just before the man's filthy lips touched Sakura's a tap on his shoulder made him grunt in annoyance. Turning around while preparing his best pissed off face in the world, the man was never able to show it as a fist came crashing to meet his face. Falling backwards onto the floor, the last thing that the man remembered was a cold, dead of emotion face with scarlet flames surrounding the attacker before a kick to the groin left him seeing stars, and then black.

Turning to look at the other two thugs, Syaoran walked towards them slowly, ripped Sakura from their hands, and walked in between the two. Then, Syaoran elbowed each man in the ribs, and while they were falling, punched them in the face. Turning to face a frightened Sakura, the Captain grabbed her hand before opening the door and calmly leaving, his stone-faced.

Syaoran was walking down the street with such a calm expression yet his aura was dancing all around him. Sakura, worried, tried to speak up, but failed. When they were a good ways away from the bar and Sakura's hand was beginning to throb, the maiden finally spoke, tentative,

"I'm sorry; I should have been more caref-"

"You're damn right you should have been more careful!" Syaoran exploded, turning to face Sakura. The woman was beyond shocked, looking at Syaoran. The man was angry. Very angry.

"What were you thinking?! How could you let yourself be cornered! If I wasn't there then it would have been the end for you! Dammit!" Letting go of her hand, Sakura watched dumbstruck as Syaoran did a spinning back kick to a near-by trash can, sending it flying. Breathing heavily, Syaoran turned to face the opposite direction Sakura was in. Getting the nerve to speak again, Sakura walked slowly up to Syaoran and pressed her hand lightly on his arm.

"I'm sorry. Thank you." The Captain slowly willed himself to relax, breathing slower. Calming down, the man turned to look at the maiden behind him, her jade-eyes still holding a little fear in them. Sighing, the man ran his fingers though his hair.

"You shouldn't be thanking me. It's my fault you were even in that position. I should have stuck closer to you. This was because of me." Sakura shook her head furiously and replied.

"No! It was my fault, I can take care of myself, but I didn't. It's over now, okay? It's getting dark, so we should look for open inns. Let's forget about this." After a few moments of silence, Syaoran nodded.

"Okay. We'll look for an inn. But no more bars for you!" Suppressing a sigh, Sakura nodded, and the two began to search for a place to stay for the night.

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><p>After an inn was found, baths were taken, and Sakura asleep in her room, Syaoran walked outside once more to take a breath of night air and clear his head. Looking up at the sky, the man admired the bright moon shining brightly among the stars. Sighing, the man looked down at the necklace in his right hand, before slowly beginning to put it on. Having just washed himself, he had taken the necklace off. Stopping suddenly however, the man tucked the necklace into his pocket, assumed a defensive position and reached for his sword, looking around tensely.<p>

"I'm impressed little worm. You actually perceived me. You are, however, nowhere _near_ my ability." A voice called out, and that was all Syaoran knew before he was consumed in darkness. A wind whipped around the unconscious man, circling him and closing in. When the dust and wind cleared, the man's unconscious form had disappeared.

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><p><strong>End of Chapter 10<strong>

**Eh-heh-heh, CLIFFY! Review please, or I'll never want to post what happened to the Captain! (Even though we don't go back to this until chapter 12) So please tell me how I did, and I apologize for the wait. Since school will be starting up, I'll get really slow to update, sorry!**


	11. Dancing with Shadows

**The Heart's Hitsuzen**

**Chapter Eleven: Dancing with Shadows**

**By: Eviltiger**

**Author's Note: … I'm back! Heh-heh… I'M SORRY! It really took me a long time to continue on with this one huh? I really apologize! Thanks for staying patient, and here it is! I'm not done with Song of the Wolf, but I felt you guys had definitely waited long enough.**

**SOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRYYYYY! DX**

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><p>Syaoran woke up with an out-of-body feeling, the world seeming to swirl around him. Shaking his head slowly, the man breathed deeply and slowly opened his eyes once more to assess the situation. Slowly reaching towards his pocket the man felt emptiness where there should have been a gentle bulge. The necklace was gone. Cursing softly to himself the man began to stand up. If his captor had taken his necklace, then they were most likely someone who knew of-and practiced using- magical artifacts.<p>

It wasn't until he began to slowly stand up did he realize what he was seeing though. The captain was in a room full of doors. Doors stood row by row next to each other on the walls. Some were small, others large. The differences and styles on each door varied greatly from the next. The man never realized there were so many ways a door could be built.

Looking up at the ceiling and down at the floor the man suddenly realized it wasn't just the walls that had doors; the ceiling and floor was covered with them to. Confusion heightened in the man, and he slowly went to where is sword was usually tucked- only to find it gone. The man cursed. Wonderful, his sword was gone as well. Just wonderful.

Suddenly the room was filled with an endearing chuckle. The voice bounced off the walls, making it impossible to tell where it came from. Syaoran rolled his hands into fists, slowly calling out his aura in a defensive mode. He wouldn't be able to do much with his aura, but he would try his best.

"So you're finally both awake my little worms?" Syaoran's mind raced. The woman's voice had said 'both'. That meant somewhere Sakura was trapped as well.

"What's going on?" The captain shouted authoritatively. He strained to hear any signs of Sakura's voice, trying to see if she was nearby. He heard nothing.

The voice chuckled again. "My, my, a brave worm little worm I have here. Well, I shall explain. You and the lady with you were searching for someone with knowledge of the arts, no? I have been quite bored for some time now, I wouldn't mind telling you what I know about your item." The woman crooned.

Syaoran could feel there was a catch, there had to be. "But?" He prompted.

The voice laughed. "But, as you so smartly deduced, I want to have a little fun first. The doors all around you lead to rooms- every single one of them. If the two of you can meet each other before time runs out, you will be free. I'll let you go, return your necklace, and even tell you what you need to know."

"Before time runs out?" The captain echoed. The man couldn't shake the feeling that something ominous lurked beneath those words.

"Before your shadow consumes you." The voice crooned. "This world is one of my own creations, as you may have realized. Many rules that apply in the mortal world do not exist here. While it may be different however, anything you experience here may be painfully real. Have fun, little worms, for time is already fading away." With that the voice was gone, leaving Syaoran to gaze around the door-filled room.

The man looked around haplessly. What was he supposed to do? The man closed his eyes and racked his brain for anything. From what he knew, only rare few could create worlds, and many of them were from the Kiishim bloodline. He had read many books about magic when he was a child and almost every one of them had at least briefly mentioned Kiishims. Kiishims could wield powerful magic, magic great enough to create "worlds" such as the one Syaoran was in. The man also knew however, that such worlds were weak. If that man could find a weakness in this trap, he would be able to break the world. The gamble however, would be whether Sakura would fall out or not.

So caught up in his thoughts the man was he did not realize something strange was occurring with his shadow until he felt a slight nip at his toes. Looking down the man yelled in shock. Darkness surrounded Syaoran's feet, and the captain realized he couldn't see the tips of his toes. As soon as he realized this however, the darkness whirled away.

"…I get it now." The man said grimly, gritting his teeth. "_Before your shadow consumes you_." The Kiishim hadn't been lying. Turning to face the walls of the room he was in, the man braced himself and began to walk towards a door at a quick pace, a plain white door with a golden knob. He had to find Sakura fast.

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><p>Sakura flung open another door with intricate golden leaf patterns on the painted wood. If she had not been in a hurry the woman would have taken the time to marvel at some of the exquisite artwork portrayed in these doors. As it was though, she did not have the time for that. Gritting her teeth frustration and fear welled in her once more as she looked around the new room desperately. No Syaoran again. Feeling a nip at her knees Sakura ran faster, as if to stop her shadow from increasing its slow rise on her by escaping it through sprinting. Sometimes it worked, but then again sometimes it did not.<p>

Slapping her knees furiously Sakura felt a small relief as her shadow retreated once more, allowing the woman to see her legs again. Catching her breath the maiden looked around, furious. Randomly running through doors would do her no good but so far she had not been able to detect Syaoran at all. Continuously running might actually do more harm than good. Staring hard at the ivory door she had come from- there was a very beautiful purple heart decorated on both sides-Sakura decided not to open any more doors. Right now she needed to think of a way to find Syaoran without running around like a mouse.

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><p>Syaoran stopped running through doors. He was getting tired after opening countless doors to countless rooms and the progress had been minimal to none. Once he thought he had caught a small sliver of Sakura's aura, only for it to disappear for good once he tried to focus in on it. The Kiishim was probably to blame for that. Sighing in a frustrated manner the man swiped at his shadow, making the black matter whirl away. It was up a little above his knees now.<p>

Looking around the man decided to try one last door, before thinking of a way to fracture the world. One more door, and if Sakura wasn't in that room he would start calling upon his aura in a violent manner. The doors never ended. Deciding to try one on the floor the man walked around the doors carefully, observing them. There was a midnight blue door with a pale moon embellished on it, a light pink cherry blossom colored door with Sakura's namesake glittering on the front in small intricate strokes of shimmering magenta, a simple ivory door with a purple heart on the front…

Stopping at the door with a purple heart the man stood there looking at it. Perhaps this one… Reaching down the man grasped the door's knob. Turning the knob gently, the man was about to open the door when he let go of the knob. Not this one. Turning around, the man walked away from that door before opening a plain dark door with a white handle and being pushed into the next room, the door swinging behind him shut automatically.

The next room of course, was empty.

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><p>Sakura sat on a small surface of the floor where there was no blasted door and just white wall, thinking to herself. She tried to ignore the shadow enveloping her mid-thigh and down, focusing on anything but that. Sighing in frustration once more the woman felt her thoughts drifting to Syaoran. He had changed over the years. He was no longer that small blushing boy with bright and curious eyes. He was older, wiser now, and harsher. He was no longer a small innocent child. Then again- neither of them were.<p>

A pang of sadness ran through Sakura. If only life could return to simpler days, days where dreams ran free… The woman shook her head. They could never return there. All they could do was to keep moving forward. Then, remembering Syaoran's anger and protectiveness for Sakura in Kyoto and his kind eyes when addressing his crew, Sakura smiled softly. Maybe there still was hope for both of them after all.

Her shadow whirled away as Sakura stood up and stretched slightly. With renewed determination she set about to finding a way to free herself and Syaoran from the current world they were trapped in. With this thought, Sakura suddenly realized what had been bothering her this whole time. This world had a film-like substance covering all the walls and doors- a film so thin Sakura had not noticed this whole time. The substance however shone ever so slightly. This was one of the tell-tale signs of being trapped in a spell-world.

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><p>Syaoran called on his aura again and again. It raged hot and powerful yet the doors remained impassive and cool, untouched by the Captain's attacks. Getting more angered and frustrated by the minute the man unleashed his biggest wave of aura yet, summoning the deepest dregs of energy from his body and expelling all he had outward in every direction.<p>

He himself felt as if he were on fire, there was no doubt about that. Pain racked his body as he collapsed to the floor, exhausted and completely drained. He would be doing no more aura attacks for a while. Breathing heavily he looked at the every perfect doors, glittering cruelly at it. The man groaned. Nothing had made a change. Sitting up slowly he glared at the doors with as much hatred as he could muster. Not that it would make a change though.

About to fall on his back again Syaoran suddenly noticed something odd. The doors were all glowing in an odd manner. The doors he was sitting on felt unnaturally warm and vibrating. Standing up slowly the man looked around dumbfounded as the whole world began to shake. A high-pitched whine began to build in intensity, making the man cover his ears, grimacing. In the background he could hear the Kiishim exclaim something that he couldn't make out.

The world started spinning now, the whine increasing and the vibrations buzzing like angry bees. The bright light expanded, making Syaoran shut his eyes tightly. What was happening? Unable to think straight the man could only wait as everywhere was unnaturally bright, unnaturally loud, spinning, spinning, spinning, spinning, going faster and faster and faster-!

Suddenly the world abruptly stopped spinning. The noises had all disappeared and an odd silence filled the place. It seemed everything was frozen. Daring to breathe Syaoran quietly inhaled. Then the world shattered.

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><p><strong>End of Chapter 11<strong>


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